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CRITICAL   NOTES 

ON   THE 

Jntcrnational  Sunbaij-Siijool  Ccssons 

FROM    THE   PENTATEUCH 

For    1887 

(January  2 — Junk  26) 


BY      / 

The  Rev.  S.  R.  DRIVER,  D.D. 

Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  and  Canon  of  Christchiirch, 
Oxford. 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

18S7 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Indications  ok  Different  Documents  in  the  Pentatf.ucii i 

LESS01\S~-Firsi    Quarter. 

I.  The  Beginning — Gen.  i  :  26-31 ;  2  :  1-3  (Jan.  2) g 

II.  Sin  and  Death — Gen.  3  :  1-6,  17-19  (Jan.  9) 12 

III.  Cain  and  Abel — Gen.  4  :  3-16  (Jan.  16) 16 

IV.  Noah  and  the  Ark — Gen.  6  :  9-22  (Jan.  23) 18 

V.  The  Call  of  Abram — Gen.  12  :  1-9  (Jan.  30) 21 

VI.  Lot's  Choice — Gen.  13  :  1-13  (Feb.  6) 22 

VII.  God's  Covenant  with  Abram — Gen.  15  :  5-iS(Feb.  13)..  24 

VIII.  Abraham  Pleading  for  Sodom — Gen.  18  :  23-33  (Feb.  20).  27 

IX.  Destruction  of  Sodom — Gen.  19  :  15-26  (Feb.  27) 30 

X.  Abraham  Offering  Isaac— Gen.  22  :  1-14  (Mar.  6) 33 

XI.  Jacob  at  Bethel — Gen.  28  :  10-22  (Mar.  13) 37 

XII.  Jacob's  New  Name — Gen.  32:  9-12,  24-30  (Mar.  20) 40 

XIII.  Temperance  Lesson — Gen.  9  :  18-27  (Mar.  27) 44 

Second  Quarter. 

I.  Joseph  Sold  into  Egypt — Gen.  37  :  23-36  (April  3) 50 

II.  Joseph  E.xalted — Gen.  41  :  38-48  (April  10) 52 

III.  Joseph  Makes  Himself  Known— Gen.  45:  1-T5  (April  17).  54 

IV.  Joseph  and  His  Father — Gen.  47  :  1-12  (April  24) 55 

V.  Israel  in  Egypt — Ex.  i  :  6-14  (May  i) 58 

VI.  The  Child  Moses — Ex.  2  :  i-io  (May  8) 59 

VII.  The  Call  of  Moses — Ex.  3  :  1-12  (May  15) 60 

VIII.  The  Passover — Ex.  12  :  1-14  (May  22) 63 

IX.  The  Red  Sea — Ex.  14 :  19-31  (May  29) 63 

X.  The  Manna — Ex.  16  :  4-12  (June  5) 65 

XI.  and  XII.  The  Commandments — Ex.  20  :  i-ii  (June  12  and 

19) 68 

XIII.  The  Tabernacle — Lev.  10:  i-ii  ;  Ex.  35  :  20-29  (June  26)  75 

The  Characteristics  of  t)ie  Documents 77 


PREFACE. 


The  following  series  of  papers  was  designed  origi- 
nally for  publication  in  the  Sunday  School  Times,  with 
the  view  of  explaining,  from  the  point  of  view  of  liter- 
ary criticism,  the  lessons  selected  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment for  the  first  two  quarters  of  the  current  year.  The 
introductory  article,  and  papers  on  the  first  four  lessons, 
appeared  in  due  course  in  the  Sunday  School  Times 
(Dec.  i8,  25,  1886;  Jan.  i,  8,  1887);  but  at  this  stage 
the  series  was  discontinued  by  the  decision  of  the  edi- 
tor. Meanwhile,  the  writer  had  completed  his  notes 
for  the  remaining  lessons  of  the  half-year  ;  and  in  the 
belief  that  there  arc  students  who  may  not  have  access 
to  larger  works  dealing  with  the  subject,  and  to  whom 
those  notes,  detached  and  incomplete  as  they  are,  may 
be  of  service  in  the  endeavor  to  understand  the  organ- 
ism of  the  Bible,  they  are  here  published  in  a  separate 
form. 

It  has  seemed  best  on  the  whole  to  reprint  the  intro- 
ductory article  and  the  first  four  lessons  as  they  ap- 
peared in  the  Sunday  School  Times.  There  are  several 
omissions  of  matter  contained  in  the  original  manu- 
scripts of  the  first  four  lessons  ;  but  all  the  strictl)' 
critical  notes  were  duly  printed,  and  there  is  no  suffi- 
cient reason  to  challenge  a  comparison. 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  other  notes  are  printed  exactly  as  the  writer 
would  have  desired  them  to  appear  in  the  Sunday 
School  Times,  had  the  series  not  been  interrupted — sub- 
ject only  to  such  curtailment  as  the  limits  of  space  at 
the  editor's  disposal  might,  in  some  cases,  have  rendered 
necessary.  The  writer  has  introduced  no  alteration  in 
the  manner  of  treatment,  beyond  the  addition  of  a  (tvf 
explanatory  foot-notes,  which  would  have  been  unsuit- 
able in  the  columns  of  a  weekly  journal.  A  certain  in- 
equality of  treatment' may  possibly  be  noticed  in  the 
different  papers.  Not  realizing,  at  the  time  when  his 
earlier  notes  were  being  prepared,  the  comprehensive 
scale  upon  which  each  lesson  was  treated  in  the  S^inday 
School  Times,  by  independent  contributors,  the  writer 
dwelt  at  greater  length  than  was  required  upon  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  selected  passages:  in  the  later  papers 
the  treatment  is  generally  briefer,  and  is  more  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  the  literary  aspects  of  the  lesson.  A 
little  repetition  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  excused,  as  unavoid- 
able under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  the  notes  upon 
each  lesson  having  to  be  made  separately  intelligible. 
The  task  of  preparing  the  notes  for  publication  has 
been  materially  lightened  by  the  courtesy  of  the  editor 
in  returning  to  him  the  MS.  (on  the  sixth  and  follow- 
ing lessons)  in  his  possession,  and  in  consenting  to  the 
republication  of  the  notes  already  published. 

The  writer's  theological  position  is  defined  in  the  in- 
troductory article,  and  will  further  appear  incidentally 
in  the  course  of  the  following  pages.  Of  the  reality  of 
the  revelation  embodied  in  the  Old  Testament  he  has 
never  entertained  any  doubt,  and  his  studies  have  only 


TREFACE.  V 

confirmed  him  in  his  belief  of  it.  But  these  same 
studies  have  also  persuaded  him  that  the  facts  of  the 
Bible  itself  do  not  (in  many  cases)  permit  the  ordinarily- 
accepted  views  respecting  the  origin  and  structure  of 
the  different  books  to  be  maintained.  It  appears  to 
him  to  be  the  duty  of  Christian  teachers  and  apologists 
to  accept  such  conclusions  as  are  thus  authorized,  and 
to  appropriate,  so  far  as  they  are  assured,  the  results  of 
critical  and  historical  research.  Where  the  data,  in  the 
writer's  judgment,  have  appeared  doubtful  or  ambigu- 
ous, care  has  been  taken,  in  the  following  pages,  to 
point  this  out  to  the  readers.  The  writer  would  be 
more  than  satisfied,  should  the  present  series  of  notes 
have  the  effect  of  directing  fresh  attention  to  this  im- 
portant subject. 

It  will  be  understood  that,  in  the  compilation  of  the 
notes,  use  has  been  made  of  the  best  authorities,  though 
never  without  an  independent  exercise  of  judgment  ; 
but  in  a  work  of  this  character  there  did  not  seem  to 
the  writer  to  be  occasion  for  recording  his  obligations 
expressly. 

February^  1SS7. 


INDICA  TIONS   OF  DIFFERENT   DOCUMENTS 
IN  THE  PENTATEUCH, 

When  any  of  the  longer  historical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  examined  attentively,  some  remarkable 
facts  disclose  themselves  which  are  not,  perhaps,  appar- 
ent to  an  ordinary  reader.  In  particular,  the  narrative 
is  seen  to  be  neither  perfectly  continuous  nor  perfectly 
uniform.  Sometimes,  for  instance,  there  are  breaks  in- 
terrupting the  connection  ;  at  other  times,  what  is  ap- 
parently the  same  occurrence  is  narrated  twice.  Far- 
ther, particular  sections  of  any  given  book  are  found  to 
resemble  one  another  in  style  and  phraseology,  while 
differing  from  the  surrounding  or  intervening  sections  ; 
the  resemblances,  morever,  being  not  isolated  or  su- 
perficial, but  numerous  and  recurrent.  Thus,  to  take  a 
particular  example,  Genesis  9:  1-17  and  Genesis  17 
have  many  features  common  to  one  another,  which  are 
very  different  from  those  of  chapter  18  or  chapter  24, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  resemble  those  of  Genesis  i. 
And,  upon  farther  examination,  it  appears  that  sections 
or  passages,  longer  or  shorter,  as  the  case  may  be,  re- 
sembling the  three  just  mentioned — namely,  Genesis  i  ; 
9:  1-17;  17 — recur,  at  intervals,  to  the  end  of  the  book 
of  Joshua.  What  is  the.  explanation  of  this  peculiar- 
ity ? 

A  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  Gt)nccrned 
I 


2  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

shows  that  only  one  explanation  is  possible.  The  Pen- 
tateuch (from  which,  though  it  does  not  at  present  con- 
cern us,  the  book  of  Joshua  cannot  be  separated)  is  not 
the  work  of  a  single  author  ;  documents  or  writings, 
the  work  of  different  hands,  are  combined  in  it.  The 
method  of  a  Hebrew  historian  was  not  that  of  a  modern 
Avriter  of  history.  The  modern  writer  borrows  his  ma- 
terials from  ancient  sources  or  documents,  but  rewrites 
them  in  his  own  language,  except  where  a  quotation  is 
expressly  introduced.  The  style  of  his  history  is  thus 
homogeneous  throughout.  A  Hebrew  historian,  on 
the  other  hand,  excerpted  from  his  sources  such  pas- 
sages as  were  suitable,  and  incorporated  them  substan- 
tially as  he  found  them  ;  sometimes  adding  comments 
of  his  own,  but,  as  a  rule,  only  introducing  such  alter- 
ations as  were  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing 
them  and  fitting  them  together.  If,  now,  the  original 
sources  or  documents  made  use  of  by  the  historian  — or, 
as  one  may  more  fitly  term  him,  the  compiler — differed 
in  style  from  one  another,  the  differences,  it  is  obvious, 
would  not  be  obliterated  by  this  treatment;  and  if,  far- 
ther, the  compiler,  in  his  comments  or  additions,  used 
phrases  peculiar  to  himself,  we  should  naturally  find  three 
separate  styles  side  by  side,  and  still  distinguishable. 
To  be  sure,  the  style  of  three  ordinary  writers  of  Eng- 
lish prose  would  not,  probably,  in  a  similar  case,  be  dis- 
tinguishable ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Hebrew  style  of  writing  (like  that  of  the  ancients  gen- 
erally) was  much  more  condensed  than  that  of  modern 
times  ;  the  characteristics  of  a  particular  style  were,  in 
consequence,  more  strongly  marked.     Thus  a  Hebrew 


DOCUMENTS   IN   THE   FENTATEUCII.  3 

author  impressed  a  definite  and  distinct  individuality 
upon  whatever  came  from  his  pen. 

That  the  method  which  has  been  described  was  one 
actually  followed  by  the  Hebrew  historian  can  be  read- 
ily shown  in  the  case  of  the  Chronicles.  The  books  of 
Chronicles  are  based  largely  upon  our  existing  books  of 
Samuel  and  Kings,  long  and  numerous  excerpts  from 
which  were  combined  by  the  compiler  with  the  materi- 
als contributed  by  himself.  Thus  2  Chronicles  5  :  2-14 
agrees  substantially  with  i  Kings  8  :  i-ii  ;  but  in  verses 
11-13  is  a  passage  inserted  by  the  compiler  of  Chron- 
icles between  the  two  halves  of  verse  10  in  Kings  ;  2 
Chronicles  18  in  the  main  agrees  verbally  with  i  Kings 
22  ;  but  in  verses  2  and  31  are  short  additions,  due  simi- 
larly to  the  later  compiler  :  the  first  part  of  2  Samuel 
6:  19  appears  in  i  Clironicles  16:  3.  The  second  part 
of  the  same  verse  is  found  in  i  Chronicles  16:  43  ;  the 
intervening  verses  being,  as  in  the  other  cases,  an  addi- 
tion of  the  compiler.  In  these  and  all  similar  instances 
the  passages  added  differ  radically  in  style  and  phrase- 
ology from  those  excerpted  from  the  earlier  books. 

Mutatis  milt  and  is,  iht  same  phenomena  are  presented 
by  the  Pentateuch.  Groups  of  passages  occur  in  it,  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other  by  such  an  aggregation  of 
characteristic  features  that  it  is  impossible  not  to  attrib- 
ute the  differences  to  a  similar  cause.  In  fact  (if  we 
may  for  the  present  leave  Deuteronomy  out  of  consid- 
eration), two  streams  of  narrative  run  through  the  first 
four  books,  distinguished  from  one  another  not  merely 
by  differences  of  piirascology,  but  also  by  differences  of 
purpose   or  scope.     Of  these,  one,  from   the  attention 


2|.  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

bestowed  in  it  to  all  ceremonial  or  sacrificial  usage  (it 
includes,  for  instance,  Lev.  i-i6),  may  be  termed  the 
priestly  narrative,  and  may  be  referred  to,  for  brevity, 
by  the  letter  P.  The  other  narrative,  from  its  affinity 
of  spirit  with  the  great  prophets,  may  be  termed  the 
prophetical  narrative.  From  the  fact  that  it  is  not 
throughout  perfectly  homogeneous,  and  can  in  some 
places  be  separated,  with  tolerable  certainty,  into  its 
component  parts,  it  is  customary  now  to  denote  it  by 
the  double  letters  JE,  the  separate  letters  J  and  E  be- 
ing used  when  it  is  required  to  refer  to  either  part  sepa- 
rately ;  and  these  particular  letters  being  chosen  be- 
cause the  names  "  Jehovah  "  and  "  Eloheem  "  are  used 
by  preference  (though  not  exclusively)  in  the  two  com- 
ponent parts  respectively  (compare,  for  instance.  Gen. 
21  :  6-24,  which  belongs  to  E,  with  chapter  24,  which 
is  part  of  J).  The  distinction  between  J  and  E  is,  how- 
ever, of  secondary  importance,  as  compared  with  that 
between  JE  (treated  as  a  whole)  and  P  ;  and  it  is  only 
mentioned  here  for  the  sake  of  completeness.  The  proc- 
ess by  which  these  different  narratives  were  combined 
together  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  as  follows  : 
Firstly,  there  were  two  independent  narratives  of  the 
patriarchal  and  early  history  of  Israel,  J  and  E,  cover- 
ing largely  the  same  ground  ;  these  were  afterwards 
combined  by  a  redactor  or  compiler  into  the  single 
whole  which  ^ve  have  denoted  by  JE.  At  a  later  date, 
when  P  had  been  composed,  another  compiler  came, 
and  united  P  with  JE,  thus  giving  rise  to  the  first  four 
books  of  the  Pentateuch  substantially  as  we  have  them. 
We  have  next  to  ask  to  what  date  these  different  nar- 


DOCUMENTS   IN   THE   PENTATEUCH.  5 

ratives  or  sources  may  be  assigned.  Do  they  all  belong 
to  the  Mosaic  age  ;  or  are  they  in  part,  or  even  entire- 
ly, subsequent  to  it  ?  Wc  are  here  moving  on  uncer- 
tain ground,  and  can  only,  in  some  cases,  give  an  an- 
swer approximately.  Still  there  are  indications,  neither 
few  nor  unimportant,  which  point  independently  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Pentateuch,  at  least  as  a  whole,  is 
not  a  work  of  the  Mosaic  age.  One  of  the  sources  of 
which  it  is  composed  might,  indeed,  be  of  early  date ; 
but  its  complex  and  artificial  structure,  as  disclosed  by 
literary  criticism,  is  surely  the  mark  of  a  much  later  age. 
Again,  both  in  style  and  subject-matter,  especially  in 
certain  of  the  legislative  enactments,  the  discourses  of 
Deuteronomy  differ  so  fundamentally  from  the  earlier 
books  of  the  Pentateuch  that  it  is  impossible  to  suppose 
both  to  be  the  work  of  the  same  legislator.  Reluctant- 
ly the  present  writer  makes  the  admission  which  the 
facts  extort  from  him  :  he  does  not  see  how  the  Mosaic 
authorship  of  Deuteronomy  can  be  maintained.  But 
Deuteronomy  is  not,  on  this  account,  to  be  set  down  as 
a  "  forgery  ;  "  nor  can  it  be  granted  that  the  author  de- 
sired to  win  credit  for  himself  by  passing  off  as  Mosaic 
his  own  "  inventions."  The  laws  which  he  incorporated 
were,  for  the  most  part,  ancient,  and  recognized  by  the 
Israelites:  the  author^  instinct  with  prophetic  inspira- 
tion, merely  threw  them  into  a  new  framework,  empha- 
sized the  motives  by  which  their  observance  should  be 
dictated,  and  accommodated  the  whole  to  the  position 
of  the  legislator,  Moses.  In  principle,  his  method  does 
not  differ  from  that  of  the  Chronicler,  who,  for  instance, 
in  I  Chronicles  29,  attributes  to  David  a  speech  which 


6  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

the  idioms  employed  in  it  show  to  be  the  author's  own 
composition.  It  is  an  ideal  Moses  whose  aspirations 
and  aims  he  unfolds  before  us  ;  and  his  conception  is 
splendidly  and  worthily  developed. 

According  to  Kuenen  (with  whom  Wellhausen  sub- 
stantially agrees),  J  wrote  about  800  B.  C,  E  somewhat 
later.  Deuteronomy  was  composed  in  the  reign  ofjo- 
siah.  P  was  not  completed  till  during,  or  even  after, 
the  Bab}donian  Captivity.  The  dates  here  assigned  may 
be  regarded  as  the  lowest  possible.  Other  critics  are 
not  satisfied,  for  instance,  that  Deuteronomy  is  later 
than  the  reign  of  Manasseh  ;  both  J  and  E  also  may 
have  written  earlier.  Whatever  their  date,  however,  we 
must  suppose  their  work  to  have  consisted  essentially 
in  casting  into  a  written  form  the  traditions  current  in 
Israel  respecting  the  earlier  history  of  the  nation,  with 
the  aid,  doubtless,  of  literary  sources,  when  such  were 
at  their  disposal.  The  most  important  difference  of 
opinion  concerns  the  date  of  P.  This  was  at  first  tac- 
itly assumed  by  critics  to  be  the  oldest  part  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch— earlier,  namely,  than  J  or  E  ;  and  although 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  more  recent  view  are  un- 
doubtedly strong,  there  remain  points  which  are  still 
not  fully  cleared  up.  For  instance,  part  of  Leviticus 
II  is,  and  is  admitted  to  be,  earlier  than  Deuteronomy 
(for  Deuteronomy  14:  3-20  is  based  upon  it);  and  if 
this  be  so,  the  question  arises.  What  other  parts  of  P 
may  be  earlier  than  Deuteronomy  likewise?  Perhaps 
the  truth  may  be  that  the  ceremonial  law  arrived  at 
completeness  by  gradual  stages  ;  thus,  in  some  of  its 
features  it  may  be  older,  and  even  much  older,  than  the 


DOCUMENTS   IN    THE   PENTATEUCH.  7 

seventh  century  B.  C,  while  other  features  may  repre- 
sent developments  which  were  only  fully  completed  af- 
terwards. The  safest  course  will  be  to  treat  the  dates 
proposed  merely  as  provisional  and  approximate.  But 
in  any  case,  the  laws  embodied  in  P  are  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  "  manufactured  "by  its  author  (in  which  case, 
of  course,  their  acceptance  by  the  Jews  would  be  in- 
credible). They  are  a  codification  of  existent  usages, 
in  many  features,  we  may  be  sure,  handed  down  from  a 
remote  antiquity,  though  in  others,  as  has  been  just  said, 
perhaps  modified  or  developed  by  the  lapse  of  years. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  imagine,  as  is  sometimes  done,  that 
the  critical  view  of  the  formation  of  the  Pentateuch  is 
framed  in  the  interests  of  unbelief,  or  has  its  foundation 
in  the  premises  of  a  negative  theology.  Particular  crit- 
ics may  indeed  share  these  premises,  and  employ  argu- 
ments which  the  present  writer,  for  instance,  would 
repudiate  ;  but  the  grounds  upon  which  in  fact  the  crit- 
ical position  depends  are  neutral  theological!)',  and  con- 
sist simply  of  the  application  to  a  particular  case  of  the 
canons  and  principles  by  which  evidence  is  estimated 
and  history  judged. 

We  are  bound,  indeed,  as  Christians,  to  accept  the 
authority  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  to  see  in  it  a  Di- 
vine preparation  for  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  made 
in  the  Gospels ;  but  there  is  no  obligation  upon  us  to 
accept  a  specific  theory,  either  of  its  literary  structure 
or  of  the  course  of  history  which  it  narrates.  These 
may  not  lie  upon  the  surface,  but  may  have  to  be  dis- 
engaged by  the  ordinary  methods  of  human  investiga- 
tion and  research.     If  they  should  prove  to  be  different 


8  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

from  what  we  had  supposed,  the  value  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, whether  in  itself  or  in  its  relation  to  the  New 
Testament,  is  not  of  necessity  either  diminished  or  im- 
paired. The  fact  of  revelation  will  not  be  affected  ;  we 
shall  only  have  modified  our  view — perhaps  have  ob- 
tained a  truer  view — of  the  form  in  which  it  was  mani- 
fested, or  of  the  course  along  which,  historically,  it 
advanced.  It  is  no  mark  of  wisdom  in  the  Christian 
advocate  to  link  his  faith  with  elements — in  reality  un- 
connected with  theology  at  all — which,  if  judged  by  the 
standards  which  ordinarily  satisfy  mankind,  would  ap- 
pear at  once  to  be  untenable.  Rather,  it  should  be  his 
aim  to  show  that  such  elements  are  no  integral  part  of 
his  faith.  The  Christian  critic  does  not  question  the 
fact  of  a  revelation  being  embodied  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures  ;  he  assumes  tJiat,  and  proceeds  to  in- 
quire under  what  conditions  it  was  developed  histori- 
cally, in  what  order  its  different  parts  took  shape,  and 
how  they  are  mutually  connected  together.  Where  his 
results  differ  from  those  sanctioned  by  tradition,  they 
have  sometimes  to  be  accommodated  to  the  main  body 
of  Christian  truth.  It  has  to  be  shown,  for  instance, 
that  the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament  has  still  a  value 
and  a  meaning,  though  not  altogether  of  the  nature  that 
was  once  supposed.  The  present  writer,  while  not 
pledging  himself  to  every  detail  of  the  critical  position 
(for  the  grounds,  in  every  particular,  are  not  equally  con- 
clusive), is  satisfied  that,  in  the  main,  it  is  substantiated 
by  the  facts  :  and  in  the  series  of  notes  which  he  supplies 
he  will  endeavor,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  to  consider  the 
weekly  lesson  from  the  new  point  of  view  thus  acquired. 


CRITICAL  NOTES. 
I.  The  Beginning — Gen.  i :  26-31 ;  2  :  1-3. 

(Jan.  2.) 

The  verses  of  our  lesson  form  part  of  the  opening 
narrative  of  P,  which  consists  of  an  account  of  the 
creation  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  God  "  rested  "  when  his  work  of  creation  was  ac- 
complished. The  account  extends  as  far  as  the  word 
"  created,"  in  Genesis  2  :  4,  where  the  compiler,  or  "  re- 
dactor," who  threw  the  Pentateuch  into  its  present 
form,  has  fitted  on  to  it  a  narrative  by  a  different  hand. 
As  has  been  said,  it  is  difficult  to  fix,  otherwise  than 
approximately,  the  date  at  which  this  source  P  was 
composed.  The  Old  Testament  is  of  importance,  not 
on  account  of  the  dates  at  which  its  different  books 
were  written,  but  on  account  of  the  ideas  which  they 
contain.  If  we  fix  our  attention  steadily  on  the  ideas, 
we  shall  soon  find  that  the  dates  are  a  matter  of  second- 
ary moment.  The  dignified  and  impressive  style  of  the 
chapter  with  which  the  Bible  opens  is  worthy  of  its 
theme;  and  the  sublimity  of  the  third  verse  has  ex- 
torted the  admiration  of  all  critics,  from  the  author  of 
ancient  times  ■'•  (commonly  supposed  to  be  Longinus)  to 
WeDhausen.f 

*  Feri  Ilypsous,  9,  ch.  9. 

f  Prolegomena,  p.  314  {Uistoiy  of  Israel,  p.  29S). 


lO  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

Long  before  the  rise  of  scientific  method  or  histori- 
cal research,  efforts  were  made  to  fill  the  void  in  the 
past  which  begins  where  historical  reminiscences  cease  ; 
and  most  ancient  nations  framed  for  themselves  theories 
to  account  for  the  beginnings  of  the  earth  and  man,  or 
to  solve  the  problems  which  the  observation  of  human 
nature  suggests.  Of  the  theories  current  in  Assyria  and 
Phoenicia  fragments  have  been  preserved  •  and,  at  least 
in  outline,  so  far  resemble  the  biblical  narrative  as  to 
support  the  inference  that  both  spring  from  the  same 
source,  and  have  their  root  in  the  same  cycle  of  popu- 
lar tradition.  But  in  their  Assyrian  or  Phcenician  form 
these  theories  are  crude  in  themselves,  and  associated 
with  a  grotesque  polytheism  ;  in  the  hands  of  the  in- 
spired Hebrew  historian  the  same  materials — if  we  are 
right  in  calling  them  the  same — are  unified  and  trans- 
formed, and  made  the  vehicle  of  profound  religious 
truths.  They  become,  under  his  magic  touch,  symbolic 
pictures  of  the  prehistoric  past.  The  first  chapter  of 
Genesis  may  have  passed,  as  critics  have  conjectured, 
through  more  phases  than  one  of  literary  growth.  As 
we  read  it,  it  is  the  result  of  mature  theological  reflec- 
tion, operating,  as  we  seem  forced  to  suppose,  upon 
elements  derived  from  human  sources,  but  breathing 
into  them  a  new  spirit,  and  adapting  them  to  a  new 
aim.  The  chapter  is  no  authoritative  exposition  of  the 
past  history  of  the  earth  ;  it  has  a  different  purpose  al- 
together. Its  purpose  is  to  teach  religious  truth,  not 
scientific  truth.  With  this  object  in  view,  its  author 
arranges  the  materials  at  his  disposal  in  a  series  of 
what   may  be  termed   representative   pictures,  remark- 


GEN.   I  :  26-31  ;  2  :  1-3.  1 1 

ably  adapted  to  suggest  the  reality,  if  only  they  be  not 
treated  as  a  "  revelation  "  of  it,  and  embodying  theo- 
logical teaching  of  permanent  value. 

Thus  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  teaches,  (i)  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  conceptions  prevalent  in  antiquit}',  that 
the  world  is  not  self-originated,  that  it  was  called  into 
existence,  and  brought  gradually  into  its  present  state, 
at  the  will  of  a  spiritual  Being,  prior  to  it,  independent 
of  it,  and  deliberately  planning  every  stage  of  its  prog- 
ress. It  is  silent  as  regards  the  secondary  or  physical 
causes  through  which,  as  science  teaches  in  particular 
cases,  or  perhaps  even  universally,  the  effects  described 
may  have  been  produced ;  but  dividing  the  whole 
period  artificially  into  six  parts,  it  exhibits  an  ideal 
picture  of  the  successive  stages  by  which  the  earth  was 
fitted  to  become  the  habitation  of  man,  insisting  that 
each  of  these  stages  is  no  product  of  chance  or  of  mere 
mechanical  forces,  but  is  an  act  of  the  Divine  will,  real- 
izes the  Divine  purpose,  and  receives  the  seal  of  the 
Divine  approval.  And,  {2)  in  the  verses  before  us,  this 
chapter  insists  in  particular  on  the  distinctive  pre-emi- 
nence belonging  to  man ;  implied  in  the  remarkable 
self-deliberation  taken  in  his  case  by  the  Creator,  and 
signified  more  expressly  by  the  phrase,  made  "  in  the 
image  of  God."  By  this  is  meant,  doubtless,  to  use 
modern  phraseology,  the  possession  by  man  of  self-con- 
scious reason. 

This  by  no  means  exhausts  the  theological  teaching 
which  this  chapter  of  Genesis  embodies;  but  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  show  that,  even  while  we  abandon  the 
views  popularly  entertained    respecting  it,  we   do    not 


12  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

'  divest  it  of  its.value  or  significance.  On  the  contrary, 
we  relieve  it  of  very  serious  difficulties  which  otherwise 
attach  to  it. 

Understood  as  a  report,  or  narrative,  of  actual  fact 
(even  with  the  admission  that  "  day  "  may  be  used  fig- 
uratively as  "period"),  it  is  a  stumbling-block  which,  in 
the  eyes  of  many  a  student  of  natural  science — and,  in- 
deed, of  other  persons  as  well — is  fatal  to  the  claims  of 
the  entire  Bible.  The  order  of  the  several  creative  acts 
is  an  essential  feature  of  the  narrative.  The  order,  as 
taught  by  science,  is  fundamentally  different ;  and  a 
mind  trained  in  the  precise  and  vigorous  methods  of 
scientific  investigation,  which  repudiates  everything 
that  is  vague  or  evasive,  detects  immediately  the  falla- 
cies by  which  every  attempt  to  prove  that  these  two 
orders  are  identical  is  vitiated.  The  reconciliation  may 
be  spread  over  an  entire  volume  ;  but  the  reader  who 
does  not  permit  his  attention  to  be  diverted  will  dis- 
cover the  flaws  in  the  argument  even  there.*  Let  the 
Christian  teacher  state  the  truth  plainly  and  unambigu- 
ously. He  will  find  that  the  Bible  suffers  no  disparage- 
ment in  consequence ;  but  that  its  claims  to  speak  with 
authority,  where  matters  relating  to  theology  are  con- 
cerned, will  be  the  more  readily  recognized  and  owned. 

II.  Sin  and  Death — Gen.  3:  1-6,  17-19. 

(Jan.  9.) 

The  account  of  the  creation  and  fall  of  man  contained 
in  chapters  2  and  3  is  by  a  different  hand  from  that  to 

■"See  The  Expositor  iox  January,  1886. 


GEN.  3  :  1-6,  17-19.  13 

which  chapter  i  is  attributed.    The  account  begins  in  the 
middle  of  Genesis  2  :  4,  at  the  words  "  in  the  day."    The 
redactor  or  compiler,  in  combining  different  narratives 
together    into    a    simple    whole,    frequently,    from    the 
necessity   of  the   case,  made   slight  alterations   at   the 
points  of  juncture  between  them.     If  the  rendering  of 
the  Revised  Version  be  correct,  the  construction  of  the 
opening  sentence  of  the   second   narrative   must   have 
been  modified,  and  very  possibly  some  words  have  been 
omitted.     That  the  author  of  the  two  narratives  is  not 
the  same   appears,  not   merely   from   the   difference  of 
style  and  phraseology,  but  also  from  differences  in  the 
manner  of  representation.     Thus,   to    notice  but    one 
point,  the  order  of  creation  in  the  two  accounts  is  dif- 
ferent.     In    chapter    i    the    order    is,    first,   vegetation 
(third  day) ;  second,  animals  (fifth  and  sixth  days);  third, 
man  (both  sexes).     In  chapter  2  the  order  is,  first,  man 
(v.  7);  second,  vegetation  (v.  9);  third,  animals  (v.  I9''''); 
fourth,  woman  (v.  21  ff.).    The  separation  made  between 
the  creation  of  the  two  sexes  might,  indeed,  be  reason- 
ably explained  upon  the  hypothesis  that  chapter  2  de- 
scribes  in   greater  detail  what   is  stated  summarily  in 
Genesis  i  :  27  ff ;  but  this  explanation  will  not  account 
for  the  other   differences.     The  order  followed  by  the 
narrator  forms  part  of  a  progression,  evidently,  on  his 
part,  intentional  (observe,  for  instance,  Iiow  verse  7,  fol- 
lowing upon  verses  5  and  6,  agrees  with  the  statement 
there  expressly  made,  that  no  plant  or  herb  was  yet  in 
the  earth),  and   as  evidently  opposed   to  the   order  in 
chapter  i.     Genesis  2  :  4^  to  3  :  24  belongs,  in  fact,  to 
*  The  rendering  "had  formed  "  is  contrary  to  Hebrew  idiom. 


14  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

the  source  which  we  term  J,  while  Genesis  i  to  2  :  4a, 
as  we  saw,  belongs  to  P.  The  object  of  the  narrator  is 
to  explain  the  prominent  facts  of  human  nature,  and  in 
particular  its  moral  characteristics.  But  his  narrative 
cannot  be  understood  as  a  description  of  events  as  they 
actually  occurred.  The  actual  mode  in  which  man  came 
into  being  endowed  with  the  gift  of  reason,  and  the  step 
by  which  actually  he  committed  his  first  sin,  are  both 
unknown  to  us ;  they  are  represented  here  in  a  symboli- 
cal dress,  in  which  secondary  causes,  as  in  chapter  i, 
being  disregarded,  human  nature  is  analyzed  in  its  theo- 
logical aspects. 

The  ideas  of  a  paradise,  of  a  terrestrial  garden  fre- 
quented by  the  gods,  of  a  sacred  tree,  of  a  mysterious 
power  possessed  by  the  serpent,  were  widely  diffused  in 
antiquity;  and  the  conviction  that  there  is  some  con- 
nection between  the  biblical  representation  and  the 
scene  depicted  on  an  ancient  Bab)'lonian  cylinder — a 
tree,  with  a  figure  on  each  side,  and  beside  it  a  serpent 
— forces  itself  irresistibly  upon  us.  Can  an  objection  in 
principle  be  maintained  against  the  inference  thus  sug- 
gested, that  the  materials  for  the  narrative  of  these  two 
chapters  may  have  been  drawn  from  the  same,  or  a 
similar,  source  ? 

But  though,  as  antiquarians,  we  may  find  an  interest 
in  speculating  on  the  source  whence  the  framework,  or 
other  elements,  of  the  story  may  have  been  derived,  as 
theologians  we  are  only  concerned  with  the  narrative  as 
it  lies  before  us.  Whatever  it  may  have  been  originally, 
the  narrator  who  cast  it  into  its  present  form  invested 
it  with  a  new   significance,  so  that   it  becomes,  in  his 


GEN.  3  :  1-6,   17-19.  15 

hands,  a  profound  and  impressive  allegory.  Tliey  are 
facts  with  which  he  deals,  though  he  clothes  them  in  a 
symbolical  dress.  His  narrative  tells  us,  for  instance 
(Gen.  2  :  7),  of  the  double  nature  of  man — his  earthly 
frame  and  the  spirit  communicated  to  him  by  the  Crea- 
tor— representing  a  fact  which  science  inclines  to  be- 
lieve may  have  actually  taken  long  ages  to  accomplish, 
under  a  forcible  concrete  image  which  all  can  under- 
stand. It  tells  us,  again,  how  man  lirst  used  his  reason 
by  the  creation  of  language,  distinguishing  objects  from 
one  another,  and  from  himself  (Gen.  2:  ig,  20). 

It  teaches,  under  a  symbolical  form,  the  deep  ethical 
and  social  significance  which  underlies  the  difference 
between  the  sexes  (Gen.  2:  18  ff.).  It  tells  us,  by  a  dim 
allegory,  which  speaks,  however,  only  too  distinctly  to 
every  child  of  Adam,  how  man  became  conscious  of  a 
moral  law,  and  how,  upon  the  first  temptation,  he  broke 
it.  In  the  serpent,  versatile  and  insidious,  the  seductive 
power  of  evil  is  inimitably  personified  ;  and  Adam's  fall 
is  a  typical  illustration  of  the  indirect  manner  in  which 
it  assaults  and  overcomes  the  strong.  A  long  and  bitter 
conflict  is  reserved  for  humanity  ;  but  there  is  a  pros- 
pect, as  the  narrator,  with  prophetic  intuition,  foresees, 
of  victory  in  the  end  (3  :  15).  Thus,  by  a  figurative  nar- 
rative, based,  it  may  be,  upon  materials  derived  from  the 
far  East,  but,  if  so,  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  accommo- 
dated to  the  spirit  of  Israelitish  religion,  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  human  nature  are  brought  home  to 
every  one  of  us.  We  must  penetrate  the  artificial  guise 
in  which  they  are  presented  to  us,  and,  interpreting  the 
narrative  by  the  light  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole,  appre- 


l6  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

hend   and  appropriate  the  ideas  which   it  is  intended 
to  convey. 

III.  Cain  and  Abel— Gen.  4:  3-16. 

(Jan.  16.) 

Chapter  4  is  the  continuation  of  chapter  2  :  4<^  to 
3  :  24,  and  belongs,  like  it,  to  J.*  It  gives  the  story  of 
Cain  and  Abel,  and  continues  the  account  of  Cain's 
descendants  as  far  as  the  sons  of  Lamech  (vs.  i  to  24). 
The  descendants  of  Seth,  Adam's  second  son,  as  far  as 
Noah,  are  enumerated,  with  precise  chronological  par- 
ticulars, in  chapter  5  (which  belongs  to  P.  Comp.  vs.  i, 
2,  with  chap,  i  :  27,  28  ;  2  :  40^) ;  some  account  of  Seth 
and  Enosh,  written  in  a  very  different  style,  occupies 
the  last  two  verses  of  J's  narrative  in  chapter  4 ;  and  the 
verse  (v.  29)  with  the  explanation  of  Noah's  name,  which 
is  unlike  every  other  part  of  the  same  chapter,  resembles 
them,  and,  at  the  same  time,  refers  back  to  chapter 
3:17.  Originally,  as  seems  clear,  J  contained  particulars 
of  the  entire  line  of  Seth's  descendants  to  Noah  ;  but 
the  redactor  preferred,  on  the  whole,  to  retain  the  list 
as  given  by  P  (chap.  5),  merely  incorporating  a  speci- 
men of  the  parallel  list  in  J — the  verses  4:  25,  26,  and 
5:  29. 

Doubtless  much  which  might  have  been  told  is 
omitted  (for  example,  particulars  respecting  other  in- 
ventions than  those  mentioned  in  Genesis  4  :  17  ff.);  but 
the    writer    (a    redactor)    selected    no    more    than    v/as 

*  The  question  whether  the  verses  selected  for  tlie  lesson  belong,  as 
some  writers  suppose,  to  a  "  secondary  stratum  "  in  J,  is  of  subordinate 
mportance  for  our  2>resent  purpose,  and  need  not  detain  us. 


GEN.  4  :  3-16.  17 

required  for  his  purpose.  Of  the  two  accounts,  the  one 
in  J  (chap.  4)  appears  to  have  preserved  the  old  tradi- 
tions in  their  most  primitive  form  ;  it  is  the  more  pict- 
uresque, and  more  full  of  incident.  In  P  (chap.  5)  an 
interest  in  precise  chronological  statistics  has  prevailed 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  besides.  In  construction,  too, 
the  narrative  in  chapter  5  is  much  more  artificial. 

The  beginnings  of  pastoral  or  shepherd  life  are  con- 
nected with  Abel ;  agriculture  is  stated  to  have  origi- 
nated with  Cain  (v.  2).  The  transition  from  the  wan- 
dering, nomadic  state,  once  common  to  all  nations,  to 
settled  life,  is  associated  likewise  with  Cain,  who,  in 
conjunction  with  his  son  Enoch,  is  said  to  have  "  builded 
a  city,"  and  given  it  a  name  (v.  17).  Music,  and  the  art 
of  working  metals,  are  ascribed  to  two  of  the  sons  of 
Lamech  ;  while  the  invention  of  metal  weapons  is  the 
occasion  of  a  song,  in  which  the  old  patriarch  triumphs 
in  his  sons*  success,  and  boasts  that  he  can  now,  by 
their  aid,  defy  attack.  Thus,  in  the  line  of  Cain,  the 
progress  of  material  civilization  is  traced  in  some  of  its 
more  salient  features,  not  without  allusion  to  the  darker 
traits — the  growth,  for  example,  of  a  spirit  of  selfishness 
and  revenge,  which  too  often  accompany  it.  But  it  is 
in  the  character  of  Cain  himself  that  the  ethical  motive 
of  the  narrative  is  most  pronounced,  and  the  psycho- 
logical discrimination  of  the  narrator  most  evident. 
The  outlines  of  the  picture  arc  drawn  broadly,  but  it  is 
easy  to  fill  them  in. 

The  drama  is  a  typical  one:  it  stands  ominously  at 
the  beginning  of  human  history  as  the  first  consequence 
of  the  fall;  and  it  has  often — more  often,  we  may  be 


1 8  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

sure,  than  history  records — been  re-enacted  since.  The 
sullen  temper,  the  unchecked  passion,  the  mean  and 
heartless  excuse,  have  again  and  again  wrought  out 
their  fatal  effects  ;  they  have  spread  misery  and  suffer- 
ing around  them,  even  if  they  have  not  actually  ended 
in  the  terrible  sin  of  Cain.  We  have  the  warning.  Let 
no  flow  of  temper,  no  insincerity  of  purpose,  vitiate  our 
sacrifice,  and  render  it  unacceptable  to  God.  Let  the 
envious,  discontented  temper  be  overcome  and  ban- 
ished ;  it  is  like  a  beast  of  prey  crouching  at  the  door, 
whose  deadly  assault  nothing  but  prompt  and  instant 
exertion  can  repel.  And  let  us  not  imagine  that  the 
excuse,  which  we  condemn  so  readily  in  Cain,  is  suffi- 
cient in  our  own  case.  Even  in  the  complex  organism 
of  modern  society  there  will  always  be  some  who  have 
the  claim,  which  Cain  so  coldly  repudiated,  for  a 
brother's  consideration  and  help. 

IV.  Noah  and  the  Ark — Gen.  6:  9-22. 

(Jan.  23.) 

In  the  story  of  the  deluge,  the  composite  structure  of 
the  narrative  is  particularly  evident ;  for  the  redactor 
has  preserved  more  than  is  his  wont  from  both  the 
sources  employed  by  him.  The  verses  chosen  for  the 
lesson  form  the  opening  section  of  P's  narrative;  and 
the  sequel  is  given  in  Genesis  7 :  6,  11,  13-16  (to  "  com- 
manded him  "),  18-21,  24;  8:  I,  2  (to  "stopped"),  3-5, 
13  (to  "  off  the  earth  "),  14-19;  9:  i-i".  If  these  verses 
be  read  consecutively,  they  will  be  found  to  contain  an 
almost  complete  narrative  of  the  flood,  and  of  the  sub- 
sequent blessing  and  covenant  with  Noah.     The  verses 


GEN.  6  :  9-22.  19 

which  remain,  from  Genesis  6  :  5  to  8  :  22  (except  Gen.  7  : 
7-9,  which  are  due,  probably,  to  tlie  compiler),  form  part 
of  a  parallel  narrative  derived  from  J,  but  not  preserved 
so  completely  as  that  of  P,  which  the  compiler  has 
interwoven  with  it.  In  some  places  the  duplicate  char- 
acter of  the  narrative  is  plain  ;  thus  Genesis  6  :  9-13  is, 
in  substance,  identical  with  Genesis  6  :  5-8 ;  and  thou<^h 
the  directions  for  the  construction  of  the  ark  are  natu- 
rally only  given  once  (from  P),  the  sequel  (Gen.  6:17, 
19,  20,  22,  P)  is  similarly  repeated  in  Genesis  7  :  1-5. 
The  most  characteristic  difference  between  the  two  ac- 
counts is  that  in  P  one  pair  of  clean  and  unclean  animals 
alike  are  taken  into  the  ark  (Gen.  6  :  19,  20;  7  :  14,  15); 
whereas  in  J  a  distinction  is  drawn,  and  the  proportion 
is  seven  pairs  of  clean  and  one  of  unclean  (Gen.  7  :  2,  3). 
Another  difference  relates  to  the  duration  of  the  deluge, 
which  is  much  greater  in  P  than  in  J.  In  phraseology, 
the  parts  assigned  to  P  have  a  strong  resemblance  with 
chapter  i  ;  for  instance,  the  rare  word  denoting  "  kind  '' 
(Gen.  6  :  20  ;  7  :  14),  and  the  expressions  in  Genesis  8  : 
17;  9  :  1-4,  7  (comp.  Gen.  i  :  20,  22,  28-30). 

Legends  of  a  deluge  overflowing  the  whole  or  part 
of  the  earth  have  been  current  in  many  countries;  and 
fifteen  years  ago  the  clay  tablets  containing  the  legend, 
as  it  was  told  in  Babylonia,  were  discovered  by  the  late 
Mr.  George  Smith.  The  legend  is  one  of  a  series  relat- 
ing to  a  hero  named  Izdubar,  whose  deeds  and  advent- 
ures appear  to  have  formed  a  kind  of  epic  narrative, 
inscribed  on  twelve  tablets,  of  which  the  eleventh  con- 
tains the  episode  of  the  flood.  The  account  exhibits 
several   remarkable  points  of  contrast  with  the  biblical 


20  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

narrative,  especially  with  those  parts  of   it  which  are 
assigned  to  J. 

In  the  biblical  account,  the  episode  of  the  raven  and 
the  dove  belong  to  J.  The  resemblances  of  the  Baby- 
lonian narrative  are  evident.  The  most  characteristic 
differences,  as  Schrader  remarks,  are  the  generally 
"  heathen  coloring"  of  the  latter,  and,  in  particular,  the 
different  motive  assigned  for  the  flood — not,  as  in  the 
Bible  (both  P  and  J),  the  corruption  of  mankind,  but  an 
arbitrary  resolve  on  the  part  of  the  gods. 

But  the  biblical  account,  as  we  read  it,  can  hardly 
have  been  derived  immediately  from  Babylonia;  its 
character  is  too  distinctively  Hebraic  for  this  view  of 
its  origin  to  be  probable.  Rather,  the  recollection  of  an 
actual  deluge,  which  once  inundated  particular  districts 
of  Asia,  has  been  preserved  both  in  Babylon  and  Pales- 
tine, retaining,  to  be  sure,  common  features,  but  other- 
wise developing  independently  in  the  two  countries. 
Or,  if  we  should  prefer  to  suppose  that  the  story  reached 
Palestine  originally  from  Babylon,  it  must  nevertheless 
have  been  gradually  transformed  and  recast  in  the 
mouths  of  the  people  before  it  could  become  suitable 
for  either  J  or  P  to  adopt  as  part  of  his  work.  As  they 
present  it  to  us,  it  marks  an  epoch  in  the  early  history 
of  mankind,  A  judicial  motive  is  assigned  for  it ;  it  is  a 
judgment  upon  corrupt  and  degenerate  mankind.  The 
narrative  thus  declares  God's  anger  upon  sin. 

Noah,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  preacher  of  righteousness, 
an  example  of  blamelessness  and  obedience  in  the  midst 
of  a  heedless  and  perverse  generation  ;  a  man  worthy  of 
the  seal  of  God's  approval.     His  probity  saves,  not  him- 


GEN.    12  :   1-9.  21 

self  only,  but  his  family.  Rescued  from  the  flood  of 
waters,  he  becomes  the  second  father  of  humanity, 
and  inaugurates  for  it  a  new  era.  A  new  declaration  of 
God's  purpose  with  regard  to  man  marks  the  significance 
of  the  occasion  ;  a  promise  and  a  covenant,  more  defi- 
nite than  before  (Gen.  i  :  28-30),  is  announced ;  a  new 
condition  is  established  (9  :  5,  6)  for  the  maintenance 
and  welfare  of  society.  Humanity  starts  afresh,  in- 
vested with  new  rights  and  charged  with  new  duties  ; 
the  covenant  of  mercy  embraces  all  (9  :  17),  if  they  do 
but  respond  and  fulfill  the  obligations  which  it  imposes. 

V.  The  Call  of  Abram — Gen.  12:  1-9, 

(Jan.  30.) 

The  narrative  as  a  whole  is  that  of  J,  only  vs.  4b 
(from  and  Abravi),  5  being  from  a  different  source,  virj., 
P.  The  grounds  for  assigning  vs.  /^b,  5  to  this  source 
consist  partly  in  the  fact  that  v.  ^a  repeats,  in  different 
words,  the  substance  of  v.  4^,  partly  in  the  accumulation 
of  expressions  which  mark  the  narrative  of  P  elsewhere. 
Thus,  both  "  substance  "  and  "souls"  (in  the  sense  of 
*' persons  "),  though  not  indeed  confined  to  P,  prepon- 
derate in  the  sections  which  are  grouped  as  belonging  to 
this  narrator  (13  :  6  ;  31  :  18  ;  36  :  7  ;  46:  6  ;  and  17  :  14; 
36  :  6  ;  46:  15,  18,  22,  26,  27);  and  the  word  rendered 
"gathered"  (cognate  to  that  rendered  "substance")  is 
peculiar  to  him  (occurring  besides  only  31  :  18;  36:  6; 
46 :  6).  The  chronological  note  in  v.  /\b  respecting 
Abram's  age  is  in  harmon\-  with  other  similar  notices  in 
P,  and  supports  the  same  conclusion  :  comp.  for  in- 
stance, 16  :  16;  17  :  25  ;  25  :  26;  41  :  46  ;  Ex.  7  :  7,  where 


•22  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

even  the  form   of  the  sentence   is    identical  with  that 
which  occurs  here. 

The  author  of  the  priestly  narrativ^e,  in  accordance 
with  his  design,  relates  his  introductory  narrative  sum- 
marily, and  deals  with  his  subject  more  fully.  He  dis- 
plays his  characters  in  action,  and  discloses  the  motives 
under  which  they  act.  Here,  for  example,  he  exhibits 
the  Divine  purpose  which  prompted  the  call  of  Abraham, 
and  was  promoted  by  his  migration  from  Haran  into 
Canaan.  He  was  to  be  the  founder  of  a  great  nation, 
whose  future  history  should  be  fraught  with  blessing  for 
the  whole  of  mankind,  and  whose  home  should  be  the 
land  of  Canaan,  which  the  patriarch  was  now  to  visit 
(v.  7).  The  design  with  which  this  nation  was  founded, 
and  the  character  impressed  upon  it  from  the  beginning, 
is  stated  more  distinctly  in  a  subsequent  passage,  ch. 
18:19  (R.  v.),  likewise  due  to  the  same  narrator. 

VI.  Lot's  Choice — Gen.  13:  1-13. 

(Feb.  6.) 

It  will  be  convenient  to  group  together  the  portions 
of  the  narrative  relating  to  Abraham  which  belong  to  the 
source  P.  They  are  12  :  4<5  (from  and  A  bra  tn),  5113:6, 
lib  (from  and  they  separated)^  12a  (top/ain) ;  16  :  la  (prob- 
ably*), 3,15,  16;  ch.  17;  19:29:21  :  i<5,  2-5;  ch.  23:25:7- 

*  There  is  little  or  nothing  in  this  half-verse  which  is  characteristic  ; 
but  it  is  a  repetition,  in  substance,  of  ii  :  30  ;  and  there  is  a  presumption 
that  />of/i  notices  are  not  taken  from  the  same  source.  But  11  :  30  appears 
to  be  one  of  three  verses  (28-30)  inserted  in  the  narrative  of  P,  and  belong- 
ing to  J.  Hence  the  balance  of  probability  is  in  favor  of  the  parallel  notice, 
16  :  1(7,  being  derived  from  the  other  source,  P.  But  naturally  a  point  like 
this  cannot  be  insisted  on,  and  hence  the  qualification  "  probably." 


GEN.    13  :  I-13.  23 

I  la  {io  his  son).  These,  if  read  consecutively,will  be  found 
to  constitute  an  outline  of  the  history  of  Abraham, 
sufficient  to  form  part  of  an  introduction  to  the  code  of 
ceremonial  law  in  Ex. — Numb,,  for  which  alone,  as  it 
would  seem,  it  was  originally  designed.  From  their 
brief  and  compact  character,  and  from  the  attention 
regularly  bestowed  in  them  upon  chronological  partic- 
ulars, these  notices  are  well  adapted  to  constitute  the 
framework  of  the  book,  and  to  mark  the  successive 
stages  of  the  narrative;  and  they  have  been  utilized  by 
the  final  redactor  of  the  Pentateuch  for  this  purpose.  The 
only  occasions  in  which  they  are  more  circumstantial  in 
character  are  in  the  account  of  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision (ch.  17),  and  of  the  purchase  of  the  burial-place 
of  Machpelah  (ch.  23).  Both  these  are  of  interest  to 
the  narrator,  the  one  as  carrying  back  to  its  origin  an 
observance  of  supreme  religious  significance,  the  other 
as  establishing  the  patriarch's  legal  ownership  of  the 
ancient  site  which,  as  tradition  told,  was  the  burial- 
place  not  of  himself  alone,  but  also  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah, 
Jacob  and  Leah  (see  25  :  9,  10  ;  49:  29-32  ;  50:  12,  13, 
all  by  the  same  narrator,  where  these  facts  are  recorded 
in  their  due  order).  In  this  lesson  only  vs.  6,  lib,  12a 
belong  to  P.  That  these  verses  are  by  a  different  hand 
from  the  rest  of  the  narrative  is  inferred,  partly  from 
their  style,  which  connects  them  with  other  passages  of 
P  (compare,  for  instance,  v.  6  with  36  :  6,  7),  partly  from 
the  relation  in  which  they  stand  to  the  context.  Thus 
V.  6  has  undoubtedly  been  inserted  very  skillfully  in  its 
present  place,  but  if  the  context  be  studied  care- 
full)',  it  will  be  found  to  be  really  superfluous.     When 


24  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

the  narrative,  for  instance,  is  read  without  it,  nothing 
will  be  felt  to  be  missing  ;  and  the  reason  for  which 
Abram  and  Lot  separated,  though  not  irreconcilable 
with  that  assigned  in  the  following  verses,  is  still  not 
altogether  the  same.  And  in  vs.  Ii,  12  the  words,  "and 
Lot  journeyed  east  "  (i  i^)  "  and  moved  his  tent  as  far  as 
Sodom"  {12I?)  cohere  well  together:  the  intervening 
words,  on  the  other  hand  (ii^,  12a)  form  a  natural  sequel 
to  V.  6.     The  rest  of  the  section  belongs  to  J." 

The  contrast  between  the  characters  of  Abraham  and 
Lot  is  well  brought  out  in  the  narrative  of  J.  Abra- 
ham is  peace-loving,  disinterested,  offers  his  younger 
relative  the  first  choice;  Lot,  thinking  of  none  but 
himself,  selects  immediately  the  richest  and  most  at- 
tractive region  which  the  land  contains.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  the  separation,  Abraham  alone  becomes 
henceforth  the  central  figure  in  the  narrative,  while  Lot's 
choice  brings  him  his  first  step  toward  the  east  of 
Jordan,  where  he  becomes  (19:  36-38)  the  reputed  an- 
cestor of  the  two  tribes  of  Moab  and  Ammon,  the  near 
kinsmen,  and  frequent  rivals,  of  the  Israelites. 

VIL  God's  Covenant  with  Abram — Gen.  15:  5-18. 

(Feb.  13.) 

Chapter  15  forms  part  of  the  narrative  of  JE,  though 
it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine  what  parts 
of  it  should  be  assigned  to  J  and  E  respectively.    As  was 

*  The  question  whether  the  words  and  Lot  iviih  him,  in  v.  I,  and  vs.  3, 
4,  should  rather  be  refer) ed  to  the  redactor  of  JE,  need  not,  for  our  pres- 
ent purpose,  I)e  considered. 


GEN.    15  :  5-18.  25 

said  in  the  introductory  paper,  J  and  E  are  welded 
more  intimately  together,  and  differ  less  from  one 
another  in  style,  than  is  the  case  between  P  and  JE  ; 
hence  sections  of  JE  occur,  in  which,  though  the /act 
that  they  are  composite  appears  to  be  clear,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  assign  definite  verses  to  one  or  the  other  nar- 
rator with  any  certainty.  Here,  for  instance,  in  v.  5 
Abraham  is  bidden  to  count  the  stars  ;  the  time  therefore 
must  be  nigJit ;  in  v.  12  we  read  that  the  sun  is  setting; 
and  in  v.  17  that  it  has  actually  set,  without  any  in- 
timation that  vs.  loff.  belong  to  a  different  occasion,  or 
day,  from  vs.  1-5.  It  is  singular  also  that  after  the  full 
expression  of  his  faith,  in  v.  6,  Abraham  immediately 
afterward  craves  to  receive  some  visible  sign  or  token 
that  the  promise  will  be  fulfilled.  Further,  the  promise 
contained  in  vs.  I2~i6  not  only  anticipates  v.  18,  but, 
speaking  strictly,  is  a  limitation  of  it  :  the  promise  given 
absolutely  in  v.  18  is  limited  in  vs.  12-16  by  the  declara- 
tion that  it  is  not  to  take  effect  immediately;  and  while 
the  "  Amoiite"  in  v.  16  appears  as  a  general  name  for 
the  older  population  of  Canaan  (as  it  does  similarly 
Josh.  24  :  8  ;  Amos,  2:9,  10)  in  v.  21  the  usage  seems 
to  be  different,  the  name  being  that  of  just  one  tribe 
out  of  many.  One  solution  of  the  problem  which  the 
chapter  thus  presents  to  the  critic  is  to  suppose  that  a 
narrative  comprising  vs.  i,  2,4,  7-1 1,  17,  18,  and  be- 
longing to  E,  was  combined  with  notices  derived  from 
J,  vi.^.,  vs.  3,  5,  6,  by  a  redactor,  who  at  the  same  time 
added  vs.  12-16  himself;  and  that  vs.  19-21  were  an 
amplification  of  v.  18,  appended  subsequently  on  the 
model  of  similar  enumerations  occurring  frequently  in 
2 


26  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

other  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  {c.  g.,  Ex.  3:8,  17  ;  23  : 
23  ;  34:  II,  etc.).  Whether,  however,  this  solution  is  the 
correct  one  must  remain  undetermined.  Unambigu- 
ous as  the  criteria  distinguishing  the  sources  in  some 
cases  are,  in  other  cases  they  speak  less  distinctly ; 
and  where  that  is  so,  more  than  one  explanation  is 
often  possible,  and  the  question  must  be  left  unde- 
cided. 

But  whatever  the  source  of  the  different  elements  of 
which  the  chapter  is  composed,  it  presents  as  a  whole 
two  impressive  scenes,  and  marks  an  essential  moment 
in  the  development  of  Abraham's  character.  Hitherto 
fortune  has  uniformly  accompanied  him  ;  he  has  been 
the  favored  one  of  Heaven;  has  received  the  promise 
of  an  august  future  for  his  descendants;  has  been  hon- 
ored and  successful  in  the  eyes  of  the  native  princes  of 
Palestine.  But  his  happiness  is  now  clouded,  and  his 
bright  hopes  are  crossed  by  questionings  and  doubts. 
His  faith  is  subjected  to  its  first  trial.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  sense  of  Divine  favor  under  which  (v.  i)  he  is 
conscious  that  he  rests,  he  is  still  childless.  The 
spectacle  of  the  heavens  by  night  is  made  at  once  the 
means  of  reassuring  him  as  to  the  Creator's  power,  and 
of  representing  to  him,  under  an  impressive  figure,  the 
multitude  of  descendants  who  should  own  him  as  their 
father.  The  comparison  to  the  "stars  of  heaven" — 
more  conspicuous  and  numerous,  travelers  tell  us,  as 
viewed  through  the  air  of  Syria  than  under  the  moister 
atmosphere  of  northern  climes — is  a  favorite  one  in  the 
Hebrew  writers.  It  is  repeated,  from  here,  in  the 
subsequent  promises,  22  :  17  ;  26  :  4,  which,  in  their  turn, 


GEN.    l8:  23-33.  27 

are  made  the  ground  of  Moses'  intercession  in  Ex.  32 : 
13;  and  in  Deuteronomy  it  thrice  appears  as  the  stand- 
ard by  which  Israel's  ideal  greatness  is  measured 
(1:10;  10  :  22  ;  28  :  62).  Thus  the  first  trial  of  faith  is 
overcome,  and  Abraham  "against  hope  believed  in 
hope  "  (Rom.  4  :  18).  But,  again,  even  if  Abraham  be 
satisfied  that  he  will  have  posterity,  what  assurance 
has  he  that  his  descendants  will  inherit  the  land  of 
Palestine?  To  convey  this  assurance  the  promise  is 
thrown  into  a  more  definite  and  solemn  form ;  the 
flaming  torch,  passing  between  the  divided  victims, 
symbolizes  its  ratification,  on  Jehovah's  part,  as  a  cove- 
nant binding  upon  him;  and  (vs.  12-16)  in  the  "  deep 
sleep  "  which  falls  upon  the  patriarch  he  sees  projected 
upon  the  darkness  the  dim  vista  of  the  future,  and 
understands,  at  least  in  part,  why  the  designs  of  Provi- 
dence do  not  always  admit  of  immediate  accomplish- 
ment. Possessed  of  these  new  assurances,  Abraham  is 
the  better  prepared  to  undergo  any  severer  trials  which 
may  hereafcer  come  upon  him. 

VIII.  Abraham   Pleading  for  Sodom — Gen.    18: 

23-33- 

(Feb.  20.) 

The  whole  of  chapters  18,  19,  with  the  exception  of 
the  single  verse  19:  29,''-  belongs   to  the  narrative  of  J. 

*  Which  (i)  betrays  itself  as  an  insertion,  in  that  it  repeats  in  other 
words  the  substance  of  the  preceding  narrative:  and  (2)  contains  several 
independent  marks  of  the  style  of  P,  viz.,  "God"  (Elohcem),  twice 
for  "Jehovah,"  which  has  been  used  before  {e.  g.,  vs.    13,   14,   16,    24, 


28  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

The  section  furnishes  us  with  a  fuller  insight  into  the 
character  and  personality  of  Abraham  ;  it  represents 
him  as  pleading  with  God  on  behalf  of  the  righteous 
who  may  be  shut  up  within  the  doomed  cities:  it  ex- 
hibits to  us  by  contrast  the  fate  of  the  reprobate  men 
of  Sodom.  From  a  literary  point  of  view,  it  is  well 
adapted  to  illustrate  the  characteristic  excellences  of 
the  author's  style.  Among  the  prose  writers  of  the 
O.  T.,  J  stands  unsurpassed.  Deuteronomy,  indeed 
(chs.  1-28),  possesses  an  eloquence  and  power  unique  in 
its  kind,  and  not  approached  by  any  of  the  later  writers 
who  appear  to  have  taken  it  as  their  model;  but  rhet- 
oric and  history  hardly  admit  of  being  compared.  J's 
touch  is  delicate  and  light  :  he  tells  a  narrative  with 
just  that  amount  of  circumstance  which  makes  it  at- 
tractive and  picturesque :  there  is  not  a  word  too 
much:  the  reader's  interest  is  awakened  at  once,  and 
sustained  without  flagging  to  the  end  (comp.  ch.  24). 
His  narrative,  moreover,  is  pervaded  throughout  by  a 
fine  vein  of  ethical  and  psychological  discrimination  ; 
characters  and  motives  stand  before  us  with  the  vivid- 
ness and  reality  of  actual  life  ;  the  old  traditions  which 
he  recounts  become  in  his  hands  the  vehicle  of  deep 
theological  ideas.  The  figures  of  the  patriarchs,  and 
the   story  of  the  exodus,  have  been  invested  by  him 


27)  ;  "  remembered,"  of  God,  as  8:1;  Ex.  2  :  22  (comp.  Gen.  9  :  15,  16)  ; 
and  the  general  statement  that  Lot  dwelt  in  the  "cities  of  the  plain,"  as 
in  13  :  12  (P),  which  would  fall  naturally  from  a  writer  compiling  a 
summary  account  of  the  occurrences,  but  hardly  so  from  one  who  had  just 
before  specified  repeatedly  Sodom  as  the  particular  city  in  which  Lot  was 
dwelling. 


GEN.  i8  :  23-33.  29 

with  imperishable  charm  :  the  scenes  from  the  Penta- 
teuch which  impress  themselves  most  indelibly  upon  our 
memory  are  mostly  those  which  his  pen  has  sketched. 
Gladly  would  we  have  known  the  name  which  he  bore 
among  men,  but  Hebrew  historiography,  as  it  would 
appear,  was  uniformly  anonymous.  Of  not  a  single 
historical  book  in  the  O.  T.  has  the  name  of  the  author 
been  preserved.  The  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
form  but  an  apparent  exception,  for  these  books,  as 
we  have  them,  were  composed  long  after  the  age  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah  themselves,  and  only  portions  of 
each  are  directly  due  to  the  author  whose  name  it 
bears. 

The  narrative  presents  a  wonderful  picture  of  Divine 
mercy,  brought  to  light  through  human  intercession. 
Abraham  is  shocked  at  the  prospect  of  Sodom's  de- 
struction :  his  keen  sense  of  justice  (18  :  25)  recoils  at 
the  thought  of  the  innocent  perishing  with  the  guilty, 
and  this  by  the  decree  of  an  all-righteous  Judge.  The 
vision  of  Lot,  who,  though  he  had  shown  himself 
thoughtless  and  unheeding,  was  still  not  steeped  in 
guilt,  rose  before  him  ;  others,  not  less  "  righteous " 
(2  Pet.  2  :  8),  might  be  there  as  well;  he  is  moved 
to  compassion,  and  takes  upon  himself  to  intercede. 
With  humility  and  distrust  of  self  he  makes  his  re- 
quest ;  emboldened  by  success,  he  repeats  it ;  until  he 
at  last  receives  the  gracious  assurance  that  the  presence 
of  ten  righteous  men  in  Sodom  shall  save  the  city. 
The  truth  is  established  that  the  God  of  justice  is  also 
a  God  of  mercy.  But,  do  the  innocent  never  suffer 
with  the  guilty?     Are  they  never,  as  the  world  moves 


30  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

on,  involved  in  the  disasters  which  the  wrong-doing 
of  others  brings  so  often  in  its  train  ?  This  would  seem 
to  be  a  consequence  inseparable  from  the  organiza- 
tion which  we  call  "  society."  God  has  willed  that  men 
should  not  live  in  isolation.  They  are  dependent  upon 
one  another  as  well  for  the  necessities  as  for  the  en- 
joyments of  life ;  ties  of  feeling,  sympathy,  interest, 
bind  them  together;  innumerable  links  unite  us  each 
with  our  fellow-men.  In  virtue  of  such  connecting 
links  a  single  misdeed  may  mar  in  one  case  the  hap- 
piness of  a  family,  and  in  another  it  may  spread  misery 
and  ruin  far  and  wide  ;  it  may  even  affect  an  entire  peo- 
ple. How  is  this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  ordinance  of 
a  just  God  ?  Let  it  suffice  here  to  have  suggested  this 
question.  There  are  indications  abundantly  sufficient 
to  establish  the  truth  that  God  is  a  God  of  beneficence 
and  mercy.  We  must  seek,  therefore,  for  some  higher 
purpose,  some  higher  law,  not  immediately  apparent,  in 
which  these  seeming  antagonisms  are  reconciled  and 
explained. 

IX.  Destruction  of  .Sodom — Gen.  19:  15-26. 

(Feb.  27.) 

These  verses  are  part  of  the  same  long  narrative  of 
J  to  which  the  last  lesson  belonged,  and  from  the 
point  of  view  of  literary  criticism  nothing  need  be 
added  to  what  was  said  in  the  preceding  paper.  It  may 
be  allowable,  therefore,  to  handle  briefly  two  questions 
of  interest  arising  out  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  nar- 
rative.    It  was    customary,   formerly,   to    connect   the 


GEN.   19  :  15-26.  31 

origin  of  the  "Dead*  Sea"  with  the  catastrophe  de- 
scribed in  the  present  chapter,  which  overthrew  the 
cities  of  the  "  plain."  This  opinion  is  known  now  to 
be  untenable.  Geology  has  shown  that  in  reality  the 
Dead  Sea  is  a  vastly  older  formation.  The  region  has 
been  explored  most  recently,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Society,  by  Professor  Edw. 
Hidl;  and  his  conclusions  upon  this  point  confirm 
those  of  other  geologists  who  have  visited  the  spot, 
e.  g.,  of  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson.  According  to  Professor 
Hull,  in  miocene  times,  long  before  the  appearance  of 
man  upon  earth,  when  the  land  of  Palestine  was  first 
elevated  above  the  sea,  a  great  rupture  or  fissure, 
caused  by  lateral  pressure,  was  formed  in  its  surface, 
corresponding  generally  to  what  is  now  the  entire 
length  of  the  Jordan  valley  ;t  and  in  this  fissure  a  por- 
tion of  the  ocean  was  imprisoned.  In  process  of  time 
changes  of  climate  took  place;  the  rainfall  decreased  ; 
and  thus  the  surface  of  the  great  lake  fell  until  ulti- 
mately all  that  remained  of  it  was  the  Sea  of  Tiberias 


*  This  name  is  a  misnomer,  and,  as  travelers  agree,  suggests  associations 
wliich  the  sea  in  (]uestion  does  not  possess.  It  appears  to  be  first  used  in 
Greek  geographers  of  the  first  and  second  centuries,  A.D.  In  the  O.  T. 
it  is  known  only  as  (i)  "the  Salt  Sea;"  (2)  "  the  Sea  of  the  Arabah  " 
(/.  e.,  of  the  Jordan  valley);  (3)  "the  Eastern  (///.  Foremost)  Sea"  (opp. 
to  the  Western,  lit.  Hinder,  Sea,  i.  c,  the  Mediterranean).  See,  e.  g.,  ch. 
14 :  3  ;  Deut.  4  :  40  ;  Joel  2  :  20. 

f  But  never  extending  (as  has  been  conjectured,  and  indeed  was  held 
by  Professor  Hull  himself  till  18S3)  southward  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Aka- 
bah.  The  geological  character  of  the  lofty  chalk  hills  which  intervene 
between  the  south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  con- 
vinced Professor  Hull  that  this  was  impossiJjle. 


32  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

and  the  Dead  Sea.  The  surface  of  the  latter  is  now 
nearly  thirteen  hundred  feet  beneath  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean  ;  but  the  terraces  still  visible  along  its 
sides  mark  the  higher  levels  at  which  in  former  times 
the  water  has  stood.  Thus  the  geological  conforma- 
tion of  the  region  in  which  the  Dead  Sea  lies  proves  it 
to  have  existed,  and  to  have  been  even  larger  than  it 
now  is,  long  before  the  time  of  Abraham, 

Respecting  the  physical  cause  of  the  destruction  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain,  an  attractive  theory  has  been  pro- 
pounded by  the  eminent  Canadian  geologist.  Sir  J.  W. 
Dawson.  The  region  is  not,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term,  volcanic;  for  the  volcanic  vents,  of  which  there  are 
traces  on  the  east  side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  were  extinct  long 
before  the  age  of  man.  The  region  is,  however,  bitumi- 
nous. In  Gen.  14  :  10,  the  Vale  of  Siddim,  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  is  described  as  having  been  full  of 
"  slime  "  pits — /.  e.,  pits  of  asphalt  or  bitumen  ;  and  the 
fact  is  abundantly  attested  by  modern  explorers.  The 
description  of  Gen.  19  :  24,  writes  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson,  "  is 
that  of  a  bitumen  or  petroleum  eruption,  similar  to 
those  which,  on  a  small  scale,  have  been  so  destructive 
in  the  regions  of  Canada  and  the  United  States.  They 
arise  from  the  existence  of  reservoirs  of  compressed  in- 
flammable gas  along  with  petroleum  and  water,  existing 
at  considerable  depths  below  the  surface.  When  these 
are  penetrated,  as  by  a  well  or  bore-hole,  the  gas  escapes 
with  explosive  force,  carrying  the  petroleum  with  it, 
and  when  both  have  been  ignited,  the  petroleum  rains 
down,  in  burning  showers,  and  floats  in  flames  over  the 
ejected  water,  while  a  dense  smoke  towers  high  in  the 


GEN.  22  :  1-14.  33 

air."*  Through  an  eruption  of  this  nature  wliich  once 
happened  in  Canada,  a  space  of  about  fifteen  acres  was 
enveloped  in  fire,  and  a  village  was  burned.  The  air 
flowing  toward  the  eruption  caused  a  whirlwind,  which 
carried  the  dense  smoke  high  into  the  air,  and  threw 
down  burning  bitumen  all  around. 

X.  Abraham  offering  Isaac— Gen.  22  :  1-14. 

(March  6.) 

A  narrative  from  the  source  which  we  have  termed  E, 
to  which  also  the  greater  part  of  the  two  preceding 
chapters  are  assigned,  vi.z.,  ch.  20  (at  least  to  v.  17)  and 
21:  6-31,  33,  all  marked  by  a  preponderating  use  of 
the  term  EloJicem  rather  than  Jehovah.  The  verses  22  : 
19,  which  contains  the  conclusion  of  the  narrative,  is 
attributed  likewise  to  E ;  but  the  intermediate  verses, 
15-18  (chiefly  from  the  accumulation  of  slightly  diver- 
gent phraseology  which  they  present),  are  thought  to 
have  been  added,  or  at  least  amplified  and  re-cast,  by  the 
redactor  who  combined  J  and  E  into  a  single  whole. 

The  scene  which  E  here  describes  is  one  of  dramatic 
force  and  interest,  and  it  marks  the  culminating  point 
of  Abraham's  faith.  It  exhibits  to  us,  according  to  the 
tradition  current  among  the  Israelites,  the  trial  to  which 

*  E.xpositor  for  Jaiuuiry,  iSS6,  p.  74.  See  also  the  luminous  exposition 
of  the  geology  of  the  Jordan  valley,  in  Egypt  ami  Syria,  by  the  same 
author  (Religious  Tract  Society,  London,  1S85),  p.  99  sq.  (where,  how- 
ever, the  statement,  p.  112,  that  in  Gen.  19  :  26  the  word  rendered 
"  pillar  "  means  properly  "  mound,"  is  scarcely  correct.  It  is  not  certain 
that  the  word  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  same  sense  as  here  ;  but  from  its 
etymology  it  would  denote  something  set  jip). 
2* 


34  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

their  great  master  had  been  exposed,  and  the  temper  in 
which  he  underwent  it.  He  had  received  the  child  of 
promise,  the  son  long  waited  for,  through  whom,  as  he 
believed,  he  would  become  a  great  and  mighty  nation, 
and  a  blessing  to  the  entire  world.  And  now  the  hope 
which  had  become  a  reality,  to  which  he  clung  with  all 
a  father's  affection  for  the  child  of  his  old  age,  was  to 
be  snatched  from  him  ;  he  is  bidden  to  sacrifice  him  as 
a  burnt  offering.  Of  the  mental  struggle  which  must 
have  ensued,  the  conflict  of  motives,  the  questionings, 
whether  he  should  obey  the  strange  command  or  not, 
the  text  says  nothing;  we  only  read  that  he  proceeds 
forthwith  to  carry  it  into  effect ;  that  he  arrives  with 
Isaac  at  the  appointed  spot,  and  that  the  fatal  blow  is 
only  averted  by  the  voice  from  heaven  :  "  Lay  not  thine 
hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou  anything  unto  him  : 
for  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast 
not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me."  An 
animal  victim  is  substituted  in  Isaac's  place,  and  a 
proverb  or  expression  current  among  the  Hebrews  of  a 
later  age  is  associated  with  the  occasion.  The  meaning 
of  this  expression  is  obscure  ;  but  the  phrase  "  mount 
of  the  Lord  "  elsewhere  denotes  commonly  the  hill  upon 
which  the  Temple  stood  (Is.  2  :  3  ;  30:  29  ;  also  Ps.  24:  3, 
where  the  Hebrew  term  is  the  same,  though  it  is  ren- 
dered "  hill"  in  the  English  version);  and  the  expression 
appears  thus  to  have  some  reference  to  the  Temple  wor- 
ship. If  the  rendering  of  the  margin  of  R.  V.  (which 
is,  perhaps,  as  probable  as  any),  be  adopted,  the  meaning 
will  be  that,  as  of  old,  Jehovah  graciously  appeared  to 
Abraham,  to   relieve  his  care  in  the  hour  of  trial,  so 


GEN.   22  :   I-I4.  35 

now  he  will  be  present  to  those  who  seek  him  in  his 
Temple,  and  will  support  them  with  his  providence  and 
aid. 

The  significance  of  the  narrative  is  twofold.  It 
teaches,  firstly,  what  God  does  not  demand  of  his  wor- 
shippers: it  teaches,  secondly,  what  he  docs  demand. 
The  first  of  these  lessons  was  perhaps  the  one  of  great- 
est immediate  importance  to  the  people  of  Israel  it- 
self. There  are  many  allusions  in  the  O.  T.  to  the 
practice  of  offering  human  sacrifices,  prevalent  among 
the  native  populations  of  Canaan  ;  the  surrender  of  what 
was  dearest,  especially  of  the  first-born,  was  supposed  to 
possess  a  singular  propitiatory  influence  ;  and  the  law 
by  which,  in  Israel  itself,  the  first-born  was  claimed  by 
Jehovah,  though  always  redeemed  at  a  money-valu- 
ation (Ex.  13  :  2,  13),  perhaps  stands  in  some  relation  to 
this  custom,  and  may  have  been  designed  to  supersede 
it.  In  the  narrative  before  us,  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac 
is  commanded,  but  is  not  exacted.  Thus  it  taught  the 
Israelites,  distinctly  and  unmistakably,  that  whatever 
might  be  the  superstitious  usages  of  neighboring  nations, 
whatever  the  inducements  to  imitate  them  in  Israel,  the 
God  of  the  Hebrews  did  not  demand  from  his  wor- 
shippers human  sacrifices.  The  lesson  was  no  super- 
fluous one.  In  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  legislators 
(Lev.  18  :  21  ;  20 :  2  ;  Deut.  18  :  lo),  the  remonstrances  of 
prophets,  the  ghastly  practice  crept  into  both  kingdoms: 
Ahaz,  King  of  Judah,  patronized  it  himself  (2  Kings  16  : 
3) ;  it  became  still  more  popular  in  the  heathen  reaction 
under  Manasseh  about  half  a  century  afterward  (see, 
c.  £■.,  Jer.  7:31;  Ez.  23  :  37).    The  prophet  Micah,  writ- 


36  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

ing  about  that  time,  re-enforces  the  lesson  of  the  nar- 
rative in  well-known  words  (6 :  6-8),  which  show  how 
thoroughly  the  people  confused  the  nature  of  Jehovah's 
demands,  and  imagined  that  their  power  to  propitiate 
him  depended  upon  the  magnitude  and  costliness  of 
their  offerings.  God,  replies  the  prophet,  demands  no 
refinement  of  severity,  and  is  appeased  by  no  outrage 
upon  natural  affection.  He  respects  conduct ;  and  sac- 
rifice is  only  of  value  as  the  symbol  and  token  of  an  up- 
right heart.  God,  indeed,  in  the  narrative  of  Genesis, 
appears  to  demand  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac's  life,  but  he 
demands  in  reality  only  the  surrender  of  his  father's 
will.  This  leads  us  to  the  second  feature  in  which  the 
narrative  is  significant.  Abraham  shows  his  readiness 
to  part  with  what  is  dearest  to  him  :  his  character  is 
proved  ;  his  faith  triumphs  ;  but  the  sacrifice  is  not  ac- 
tually taken.  He  has  not  been  "  tempted  "  (v.  i,  A.  V.), 
but  "  proved  "  (R.  V.  rightly) ;  and  his  temper  has  borne 
the  probation.  His  willingness  is  treated  as  a  proof 
that  his  religion  is  sincere  (v.  22).  The  narrative  thus 
exemplifies  the  true  nature  of  the  sacrifice  and  surren- 
der which  God  demands  of  his  worshippers — the  sur- 
render of  their  %vill,  the  abandonment  of  some  cherished 
purpose,  or  possession,  or  employment,  at  the  call  of 
duty.  The  trial  may  not  come  upon  us  quite  in  the 
same  way  in  which  it  came  upon  Abraham  ;  it  may 
come  neither  with  the  same  directness  nor  with  the 
same  severity  ;  nevertheless  occasions  continually  arise 
in  the  various  circumstances  of  life,  in  which  some  sac- 
rifice or  surrender  is  demanded  of  us,  and  our  character 
is  thereby  put  to  the  test. 


GEN.   28  :  10-22.  37 

XI.  Jacob  at  Bethel — Gen.  28:  10-22. 

(March  13.) 

The  main  narrative  is  that  of  E,  with  an  insertion, 
however,  in  vs.  13-16,  and  v.  19,  from  J.  As  has  been 
said  on  a  previous  occasion,  both  J  and  E  covered 
largely  the  same  ground  :  there  are  indications,  espe- 
cially in  chapters  30,  31,  that  both  described  the  cir- 
cumstances of  Jacob's  life  ;  *  and  both  accordingly 
included  an  account  of  the  migration  of  Jacob  from 
Canaan  to  Mesopotamia.  One  of  these  accounts,  as  it 
would  seem,  vis.,  that  of  E,  dwelt  principally  upon  the 
ancient  associations  connected  with  Bethel  itself;  the 
other,  that  of  J,  differing  slightly  in  form,  emphasized 
the  promises  made  there  to  Jacob:  and  the  passage  re- 
lating to  these  has  been  incorporated  by  the  redactor 
into  his  main  narrative,  which,  as  has  been  said,  is  here 
that  of  E.  Verse  10  is  the  sequel  of  27  :  1-45  (J)  ;  the 
intermediate  verses,  27  :  46-28  :  9,  assign  a  different 
motive  for  Jacob's  departure  from  Canaan,  and  by  their 
phraseology  are  at  once  recognized  as  part  of  the  nar- 
rative of  P.  In  the  passage  before  us,  v.  17  is  the 
sequel  of  v.  12:  the  dream — the  vision  of  the  ladder, 
with  the  angels  ascending  and  descending  upon  it — 
marks  the  spot  as  one  where  (as  has  been  said)  "  heaven 
and  earth  meet,"  and  explains  Jacob's  exclamation  in  v. 

*  Notice,  for  instance,  the  double  explanation  of  the  names  of  Issachar 
(vs.  16,  18),  Zebuhin  (v.  20),  and  Joseph  (vs.  23,  24)  in  the  last  of  which, 
as  if  by  an  '•  undesigned  coincidence,"  confirming  the /wy/rt/^aV  presump- 
tion which  the  double  etymology  suggests,  there  appears  a  variation  in  the 
sacred  name  employed. 


38  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

17,  and  the  expressions  "  house  of  God,"  and  "gate  of 
heaven,"  which  he  forthwith  applies  to  it.  In  the  in- 
sertion, vs.  13-16,  "  above  it,"  in  v.  13,  appears,  as  the 
words  now  stand,  to  refer  to  the  ladder;  but  the  He- 
brew expression  may  equally  signify  "  beside  him " 
(which  is,  in  fact,  the  rendering  in  the  margin  of  R.  V. ; 
comp.  18:2),  and  the  sense  of  the  passage  in  its  original 
context  probably  was  that  Jehovah  appeared  to  Jacob, 
not  above  the  ladder,  but  standing  beside  him,  and 
there,  as  he  slept,  bestowing  upon  him  his  blessing. 
The  blessing  is  in  form  a  renewal  of  those  given  pre- 
viously to  Abraham  (12  :  3  ;  13  :  14,  16  in  the  same  nar- 
rative), with  an  application  (v.  15)  suitable  to  Jacob's 
particular  case.  Thus  the  passages  derived  from  the 
two  sources  supplement  one  another.  In  J,  the  renewal 
of  the  blessing,  and  the  assurance  of  the  Divine  pro- 
tection, is  bestowed  upon  the  patriarch  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  wanderings  ;  in  E  Jacob  erects  a 
monument  in  commemoration  of  his  dream,  and  pro- 
nounces a  vow  in  connection  with  it,  which  combine  to 
explain  the  sanctity  attaching  afterward  to  the  place, 
Bethel. 

The  present  is  not  the  only  allusion  to  Bethel  in  the 
history  of  Jacob.  In  the  account  contained  in  E  of 
Jacob's  return  from  Laban  (35:  1-4,6-8),  it  is  again 
specially  mentioned,  with  evident  reference  (vs.  1,3)  to 
E's  narrative  here  (see  28  :  20,  and  comp.  31  :  13).  There 
appears,  however,  to  have  been  a  different  tradition 
current  respecting  the  origin  of  the  name  ;  for  E's  nar- 
rative of  Jacob's  return  to  Canaan  is  followed  by  a 
parallel  one  from  P  (35  :  9-15),  in  which  the  patriarch 


GEN.    28  :   10-22.  39 

halts  similarly  at  Bethel,  and  gives  the  place  its  name 
(v.  15),  clearly,  in  the  intention  of  the  writer,  for  the 
first  time.  Thus,  wliilc  one  account  connected  the 
name  with  the  occasion  of  ]diCoh's  flight  from  Canaan, 
the  other  connected  it  with  the  occasion  of  his  return. 

In  later  times  Bethel  was  regarded  as  a  sacred  spot 
(i  Sam.  10  :  3),  and  was  selected  by  Jeroboam  for  one 
of  his  golden  calves  (i  Kings  12  :  29  ;  comp.  13  :  i).  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  Jacob  does  not  anoint  the  stone 
as  such,  but  sets  it  up  as  a  "  pillar,"  and  then  anoints  it. 
Tiiese  "  pillars  "  are  frequently  alluded  to  in  the  O.  T. 
(in  R.  V.  often,  with  a  margin.  Or,  obelisk)  as  a  relig- 
ious symbol  (comp.  ch.  31  :  45  ;  Ex.  24:4;  Hos.  10:  i); 
and,  according  to  many  critics,  were  once  freely  per- 
mitted in  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  but  were  afterward, 
on  account  of  their  heathen  associations,*  prohibited 
(Deut.  16:  22).  It  is  not  improbable  that  there  was  such 
a  "pillar"  at  the  sanctuary  (Amos  7:13)  of  Bethel, 
the  origin  of  which  is  here  explained.  Further,  it  is  at 
least  probable  that  tithes  were  paid  there  (comp.  v.  22, 
end,  and  Amos  4  :  4). 

The  custom  of  anointing  stones,  as  a  mark  of  con- 
secration, was  widely  diffused  in  antiquity,  and  is  men- 
tioned in  the  classical  writers.  Sometimes  the  stones 
thus  treated  were  actually  regarded  as  the  abode  of 
some  deity,  and  venerated  as  such  ;  among  the  Phoe- 
nicians,  for  example,  there  was  a  belief  that  certain 

*  They  were  connected  especially  with  the  worship  of  Baal,  being 
erected  in,  or  in  front  of,  his  temples  (2  Kings  3:2;  10  :  26,  27,  R.  V.). 
The  destruction  of  such  "  pillars"  as  were  avowedly  heathen  is  repeatedly 
enjoined  (Ex.  23  :  24  ;  Lev.  26 :  i  ;  Deut.  7:5;   12  :  3,  R.  V.). 


40  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

stones  even  had  souls,  and  possessed  the  power  (like 
amulets)  of  protecting  their  owners  ;  at  other  times 
they  were  merely  regarded  as  a  symbol  or  representa- 
tive of  the  absent  god.  The  act  here  narrated  of  Jacob 
must  stand  in  some  relation  to  this  belief.  But  while 
in  heathenism  such  stones  were  regarded  as  in  some 
sense  the  real  representative  of  a  deity,  the  one  erected 
by  Jacob  at  Bethel  cannot  have  had  any  other  signifi- 
cance than  as  commemorative  of  the  incident  in  the 
patriarch's  life,  and  symbolical  of  the  sacredness  of  the 
spot.  It  was  a  custom  in  antiquity  to  set  up  a  stone 
as  a  memorial  of  a  noteworthy  occurrence  (comp.  Josh. 
24  :  26.  27  ;  I  Sam.  7  :  12).  The  entire  narrative,  as  we 
read  it,  brings  before  us  the  truth  that  God's  presence 
is  about  us  wherever  we  may  go  :  it  shows  us  how  we 
ought  to  realize  this  truth  for  ourselves,  and  how  the 
sense  of  it  should  form  a  check  and  restraint  upon  our 
actions:  it  has  made  the  "God  of  Beth-el"  (31:13; 
35:7)  a  title  expressive  for  all  time  of  ever-watchful 
guardianship  and  care. 

XII.  Jacob's  new  Name — Gen.  32  :  9-12,  24-30. 

(March  20.) 

The  narrative  from  Gen.  32  :  3  to  33  :  17  belongs  in- 
dubitably to  JE;  though  the  apportionment  of  its 
several  parts  between  J  and  E  respectively  is  in  some 
places  exceedingly  difficult  and  uncertain.  There  are 
indications  that  the  narrative  is  composite — for  instance, 
in  32  :  23,  24,  Jacob  sends  his  wives  and  children  over  the 
stream  Jabbok,  he  himself  remaining  behind,  after  it 
has  been  stated,  in  v.  22,  that  he  has  already  crossed  : 


GEN.    32  :  9-12,    24-30.  41 

but  the  criteria  for  apportioning  it  definitely  between 
the  two  sources  are  indecisive,  and  have  been  interpreted 
differently.  Ch.  32  :  3-12,  may,  indeed,  be  attributed 
safely  to  J  ;  but  whether  vs.  24-32  belong  to  J  or  E 
must  be  left  undetermined  ;  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the 
former  alternative  is  the  more  probable.  In  v.  9  the 
reference  to  28  :  13  ;  31  :  3  (both  J),  will  be  noticed.  The 
passage  is  remarkable  on  account  of  the  etymological 
allusions  contained  in  it.  In  the  word — not  occurring 
elsewhere — for  zvrcstle  there  is  an  allusive  play  on  the 
name  of  the  stream  Jabbok,  as  though  this  meant  the 
•wrestler.  The  name  Israel,  to  judge  by  the  analogy 
of  names  similarly  formed — e.g.,  "  Ishmael,"  God  hears, 
"  Jerachmeel,"  God  has  mercy — will  have  meant  prop- 
erly God  strivetJi :  but  it  is  here  applied  as  if  it 
suggested  the  idea  of  Striver  ivith  God.  Lastly,  there  is 
an  explanation  of  Peniel,  /.  e.,  Face  of  God.  The  change 
of  name  from  Jacob  to  Israel  is  connected  by  P  (35  : 
9-15)  with  a  subsequent  occasion,  the  arrival,  viz.,  of 
the  patriarch,  after  entering  Canaan,  at  Bethel  (35  :  10). 
The  variation  may  be  compared  to  the  one  referred  to 
on  the  last  lesson,  respecting  the  origin  of  the  name 
Bethel  (28:  19;  35  :  15).  The  explanation  of  these,  and 
other  similar  variations  which  might  be  mentioned, 
is  to  be  found,  probably,  in  the  fact  that  tradition  is  apt 
to  fluctuate,  and  to  assume  a  divergent  shape  in  differ- 
ent localities. 

The  narrative  sets  before  us  a  critical  moment  in  the 
history  of  the  patriarch,  and  the  turning-point  in  the 
development  of  his  character.  Ilis  fear  at  the  prospect 
of  meeting  his  brother  Esau  is  vividly  portrayed  ;  his 


42  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

precautionary  measure,  vs.  7,  8,  is  described  :  with  this 
alone,  however,  he  is  not  satisfied  ;  he  betakes  himself 
to  prayer  addressed  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  whom, 
with  a  deep  acknowledgment  of  his  own  unworthiness, 
he  reminds  of  the  promises  and  encouragements  before 
vouchsafed  to  him,  and  prays,  upon  the  strength  of 
them,  to  be  delivered  from  his  present  distress.  Jacob, 
Ave  read,  "  was  afraid  ;  "  and  there  was  ground  for  his 
fear.  He  had  listened  to  the  wicked  suggestions  of  his 
mother;  he  had  deceived  his  aged  father;  he  had  wo- 
fully  wronged  his  brother  (ch.  27).  But  Jacob's  charac- 
ter is  not  wholly  bad,  though  it  needs  purification  ;  and 
here,  when  he  is  about  to  re-enter  the  land  of  promise, 
it  receives  it.  God  is  his  real  antagonist,  not  Esau  ;  it  is 
God  whom  his  sins  have  offended,  and  who  here  comes 
to  contest  his  right.  Jacob  conquers,  not  by  the  use 
of  fleshly  weapons  such  as  he  has  hitherto  employed — 
the  failure  of  his  thigh  is  a  proof  of  that — but  by  spirit- 
ual earnestness,  by  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance  and 
the  strength  of  his  faith.  This,  at  least,  is  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  occurrence  both  probable  in  itself  and  fa- 
vored by  the  language  of  Hosea,  9:3^^.  (who  mentions 
what  is  not  expressly  stated  in  the  text),  "  and  in  his 
manhood  he  had  power  {or  strove)  with  God  ;  yea,  he 
had  power  (or  strove)  against  the  angel,  and  prevailed  ; 
he  %vept  and  made  supplication  unto  him. ''  His  persist- 
ency is  rewarded  ;  success,  with  men  not  less  than  with 
God,  is  to  be  his  ;  and  he  obtains  the  wished-for  bless- 
ing. Esau  and  Jacob  are  the  ancestors  respectively  of 
Edom  and  Israel,  and  they  prefigure  in  their  lives  the 
history  of  the  nations  descended  from  them.     Edom,  as 


GEN.  32  :  9-12,  24-30.  43 

a  nation,  was  older  than  Israel,  and  had  attained  before 
it  the  stage  of  settled  civilization  and  centralized  gov- 
ernment (Gen.  36:  31).  But  closely  allied  by  kindred 
as  they  were,  a  keen  rivalry  soon  sprang  up  between 
them,  often  alluded  to  in  the  O.  T.*  and  leading  fre- 
quently to  actual  hostilities  ;  in  the  end,  however,  Is- 
rael showed  itself  the  stronger,  and  morally,  if  not  po- 
litically (for  Edom  was  never  permanently  its  depend- 
ent), prevailed.  The  two  brothers  prefigure,  in  some 
of  their  most  salient  features,  the  contrasted  character 
and  history  of  the  two  nationalities.  We  see  the  elder 
brother,  frank,  straightforward,  open,  but  without  depth 
of  character,  or  far-sightedness  of  aim.  The  younger 
brother  is  scheming,  ambitious,  persistent  ;  by  fair 
means  or  foul,  he  sets  himself  to  compass  his  ends  ;  he 
is  even  striving  to  be  superior,  and  is  at  last  successful. 
But  he  does  not  ivin  by  foul  means  ;  on  the  contrary, 
when  the  crisis  comes,  they  fail  him  altogether.  In  his 
struggle,  his  unholy  self  is  left  behind  ;  he  rises  from  it 
an  altered  man  ;  and  only  then  does  he  receive  the 
blessing  which  is  the  guerdon  of  his  final  success.  His 
perseverance  is  rewarded ;  but  not  until  he  has  re- 
nounced self,  and  applied  his  energy  in  a  good  cause, 
God's  preference  of  Jacob  above  Esau  (Mai.  i  :  3,  where 
the  allusion  is  to  the  two  nations,  not  to  two  individu- 
als) was  not  arbitrary  ;  it  was  grounded  upon  a  funda- 
mental difference  of  character.     Israel  possessed  quali- 


*  E.  g..  Am.  I  :  II  ;  Obad.  10  ;  Ez.  25  :  12-14  ;  Lam.  4  :  21,  22  ;  Ps. 
137  :  7.  Comp.  Gen.  27  :  40  (Edom  exciting  itself  restlessly  to  regain  its 
freedom). 


44  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

ties  which  fitted  him,  ivJien purified,  better  than  Edom, 
for  the  honorable,  if  arduous,  task  of  being,  through  a 
long  succession  of  centuries,  the  organ  and  witness  of 
the  truth. 

XIII.  Temperance  Lesson — Gen.  9  :  18-27. 

(March  27.) 

This  is  the  conclusion  to  J's  history  of  Noah,  and  the 
sequel  to  8  :  20-22.  With  reference  to  v.  18  it  may  be 
noticed  that  in  J's  narrative  of  the  flood  the  names  of 
Noah's  sons  have  not  been  mentioned,  so  that  they  are 
appropriately  specified  here.  The  expression  in  v.  19, 
"  was  the  whole  earth  overspread,''  is  identical  in  the 
Hebrew  with  that  in  10  :  18,  likewise  belonging  to  J. 
In  the  narrative  which  follows,  a  difficulty  arises  from 
the  fact  that  while  Ham  is  the  offender,  it  is  against  his 
son  Canaan  that  the  curse  is  directed.  The  explanation 
that  Ham  is  cursed  in  his  son  in  retribution  for  the 
offense  which  he,  as  a  son,  had  committed  against  his 
father,  is  insufficient :  it  fails  to  explain  why,  among  the 
four  sons  of  Ham  (10:  6),  the  curse  should  fall  upon 
Canaan  alone.  The  explanation  that  the  curse  de- 
velops the  meaning  of  the  name  "Canaan"  (inter- 
preted as  =  siibjectioii)  is  not  more  satisfactory ;  for 
even  supposing  that  the  name  were  prophetic  of  the 
future,  why,  it  must  still  be  asked,  should  the  person 
bearing  it  be  cursed  for  his  father  s  act  ?  The  difficulty 
is  so  great  that  some  critics  have  been  led  to  conclude 
that  the  narrative  has  been  modified  in  form  by  the  re- 
dactor :  originally,  they  suppose,  the  author  of  the  mis- 
deed was  Canaan,  who  may,  even   in  the  oldest  form 


GEN.  9  :  18-27.  45 

of  the  tradition,  have  been  treated  not  as  the  grandson 
of  Noah,  but  as  his  son  (as  the  connection  in  vs.  24-27, 
where  he  stands  by  the  side  of  Shem  and  Japheth,  seems, 
indeed,  still  to  imply).  Upon  this  view,  the  name  of 
Ham  will  have  been  introduced  subsequently  into 
the  genealogy  of  Noah's  descendants.  We  are  here 
dealing,  it  is  tolerably  plain,  not  with  individuals  as 
such,  but  with  individuals  as  representing  nationalities, 
i.  e.,  with  larger  or  smaller  aggregates  of  kindred  peo- 
ples:* and  it  is  readily  conceivable  that  these  should 
have  been  differently  grouped,  and  the  relations  be- 
tween them  differently  represented  in  different  places 
or  at  different  times.  Others,  however,  holding  equally 
the  same  view  that  the  names  here  represent  not  per- 

*  At  least  in  chap.  lo  the  names  can  hardly,  for  the  most  part,  be  those 
of  actual  individuals.  Thus,  some  are  dual  or  plural  in  form  (as  Mizraim, 
Dodanim,  Ludim,  etc.),  being  the  names  borne  elsewhere  by  the  historic, 
nations  (e.  g.,  Mizraim,  i.  e.,  Egypt,  constantly  :  Kittim,  i.  e.,  Cyprus,  Is. 
23  ;  I,  12).  Others  (like  those  in  vs.  16-18)  are  Gentile  names,  or  names 
of  places  (such  as  Sidon,  Havilah,  etc.),  by  which  the  writer  himself  can 
scarcely  have  meant  to  designate  actual  persons.  It  was  the  custom  in 
ancient  times  to  represent  the  relations  between  countries  and  races  arti- 
ficially, under  the  form  of  a  genealogy  (cf.  i  Chr.  2  :  50-52,  54,  where 
Beth-lehem,  for  instance,  is  described  as  the  "  son  "  of  its  "  father,"  or  first 
settler,  Salma).  In  Gen.  10  the  principal  nations  known  to  the  ancient 
Hebrews  are  exhibited  as  the  members  of  a  great  family,  more  or  less 
closely  related  to  each  other,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  great  ethnical 
groups,  most  strongly  distinguished  from  one  another  in  physical  type  and 
character,  are  represented  as  the  sons  of  Noah.  The  primary  divisions 
(/.  c,  nations)  into  which  each  of  these  groups  falls,  appear  as  the  sons  of 
its  representative  ancestor  (as  Javan,  /.  e.,  the  Greeks  [lonians],  the  son  of 
Japheth)  :  subordinate  divisions  (/.  c,  tribes  or  local  settlements)  appear 
as  grandsons  (as  Elishah,  .son  of  Javan,  grandson  of  Japheth  ;  Sidon,  son 
of  Canaan,  and  grandson  of  Ham). 


46  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

sons  but  nationalities,  consider  this  hypothesis  not  to 
be  necessary,  and  think  that  Canaan  alone  is  cursed,  be- 
cause, amongst  all  Ham's  descendants,  the  Canaanites 
were  the  most  intimately  known  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
in  intercourse  with  them  showed  themselves  to  be  the 
most  complete  representatives  of  the  Hamitic  charac- 
ter. Whatever  explanation  of  the  difficulty  be  adopted, 
the  fact  remains  that  it  is  Canaan  who  receives  the 
curse  ;  and  this  alone,  as  will  appear,  is  of  importance 
in  interpreting  the  narrative. 

As  regards  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  vs.  20,  21, 
firstly,  should  be  compared  with  ch.  4  :  17-24.  As 
there  we  learned  how  Hebrew  tradition  accounted  for 
the  origin  of  different  inventions  and  institutions,  so 
here  we  learn  how  it  accounted  for  the  origin  of  the 
more  artificial  types  of  husbandry,  and  in  particular  of 
the  culture  of  the  vine.  The  vine  does  not  grow  natu- 
rally in  every  region  of  the  globe :  and  there  are  many 
nations  of  the  East  who  only  became  acquainted  with 
it,  and  learned  the  uses  to  which  its  juice  might  be  put^ 
at  a  comparatively  late  period  of  their  history.  Hence 
the  introduction  of  its  culture  marks  a  step  in  advance? 
and  it  is  here  ascribed  to  Noah,  the  founder  of  a  new 
era  for  humanity,  first  in  the  region  of  Pontus  or  Arme- 
nia (8  :  4),  in  which  the  plant  appears  to  have  been  act- 
ually indigenous.  But,  with  a  keen  perception  of  its 
liability  to  abuse,  the  narrator  paints  a  vivid  picture  of 
the  disgrace  and  misfortune  which  the  enjoyment  of  the 
fermented  juice  of  the  vine  entailed  upon  its  first  culti- 
vator. The  scene  is  a  typical  one  ;  and  it  stands  here 
as  an   impressive  warning   of  the  consequences   of  ex- 


GEN.  9  :  18-27.  47 

cessive  indulgence  and  of  the  need  of  watchfulness  and 
self-control,  even  in  the  use  of  what  is  innocent  in  itself. 
We  of  the  present  day  cannot,  of  course,  make  what,  per- 
haps, might  have  been  Noah's  excuse — that  he  had  no 
experience  of  the  effects  which  the  treacherous  draught 
might  induce  upon  him.  The  Bible  does  not  discounte- 
nance the  use  of  wine  as  such, but  it  condemns,  unmistak- 
ably, its  abuse.  It  exhorts  us  to  moderation,  and  justi- 
fies us  in  adopting  whatever  measures  may  be  necessary 
to  insure  ourselves  against  temptation.  Secondly,  in  the 
Avords  addressed  by  Noah  to  his  three  sons,  we  have  a 
prophetical  interpretation  of  the  history.  Canaan,  Shem, 
and  Ham  reflect  the  characters  of  the  nationalities  which 
they  represent,  and  of  which  they  are  the  reputed  an- 
cestors. The  political  subjection  of  the  Canaanites  (see 
Jud.  I  :  28,  30;  I  Kings  9:  20  sq.),  which  is  the  import  of 
the  curse  upon  Canaan,  is  traced  to  its  root  ;  it  is  a 
consequence  of  the  innate  moral  degradation  (seeLev. 
18:  3,  24-30)  for  which  they  are  conspicuous,  and  of 
which  the  first  germs  showed  themselves  in  their  ances- 
tor. A  nation  abandoned  to  sensuality  and  licentious- 
ness speedily  decays,  and  becomes  a  prey  to  its  manlier 
and  more  vigorous  neighbors.  The  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  possessed  by  the  Hebrews  forms  the  basis  of 
the  blessing  pronounced  upon  their  ancestor  (see  10: 
21  ;  II:  10  sq.),  Shem  ;  and  the  form  in  which  the  bless- 
ing is  cast — not  "  Blessed  be  Shem,"  but  "Blessed  be 
Jehovah  f/ie  God  of  Shem" — evinces  the  full  and 
grateful  sense  of  the  privilege  which  this  knowledge 
conferred  upon  those  who  shared  it  :  it  is  the  "happi- 
ness "  of  Shem  and  his  descendants  that  they  have  "Je- 


48  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

HOVAH  for  their  God"  (Ps,  144:  15).  The  expansive- 
ness  of  the  nations  represented  by  the  sons  of  Japheth, 
their  material  development  and  growth,  suggest  the 
motive  for  the  blessing  which  next  follows  :  God  enlarge 
JaplietJi.  In  the  second  clause  :  ''  and  let  him  dwell  in 
the  tents  of  Shem,"  it  is  a  question  who  is  meant  by  the 
pronoun  Jiini.  Commentators  are  divided  ;  some  refer 
it  to  God,  others  to  Japheth,  both  of  whom  are  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  line.  As  the  subject  of  this 
part  of  the  blessing  is  Japheth,  it  is  perhaps  more  nat- 
ural to  understand  the  pronoun  as  referring  to  him. 
"  May  Japheth  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem  !  "  Unlike  the 
Canaanites  (Ex.  23  :  32  ;  Deut.  7  :  2,  3),  let  Japheth  have 
free  intercourse  with  the  descendants  of  Shem  ;  let  him 
be  admitted  to  share  the  same  spiritual  privileges  already 
granted  to  his  more  fortunate  brother!  It  is  the  same 
prophetic  thought,  which,  in  a  more  developed  form, 
meets  us  repeatedly  in  the  great  prophets  of  the  eighth 
and  seventh  centuries  B.  c.  ;  the  thought,  viz.,  that  the 
exclusiveness,  which  for  the  time  was  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  truth,  could  not  be  final,  but  that  a 
time  would  arrive  when  it  would  be  broken  down,  and 
there  should  be  no  distinction  between  Gentile  and  Jew. 
That  the  narrator  does  not  include  Ham  in  his  outlook 
is  a  consequence,  doubtless,  of  the  unfavorable  im- 
pression which  the  Hamites  with  whom  he  was  best 
acquainted,  /.  <?.,  the  Canaanites,  made  upon  him  ;  the 
anticipation  of  the  same  honorable  future  for  Hamitic 
nations  was  reserved  for  later  prophets  (see,  e.g.,  Is.  19: 
i8ff.  18;  7:  23,  18).  Thus,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  bless- 
ing defines  the  position  and  historical  significance  of  the 


GEN.  9  :  18-27.  49 

three  great  ethnical  groups  which  are  referred  to  Noah 
as  their  ancestor.  It  contrasts  the  differing  character 
and  capabiHties  of  each,  showing  how  these  condition 
their  history,  and  determine  their  prospect  for  the 
future.  It  suggests  the  ground  of  the  poHtical  subjuga- 
tion of  the  Canaanites  ;  it  acknowledges  the  religious 
privileges  enjoyed  by  the  descendants  of  Shem  ;  and  it 
anticipates  a  day  when  these  may  be  shared  by  the  na- 
tions sprung  from  Japheth,  and  thus,  as  has  been  said, 
it  interprets  the  history  prophetically. 
3 


Second  Quarter. 
I.  Joseph  Sold  into  Egypt — Gen.  37  :  23-36. 

(April  3.) 

The  history  of  Joseph  belongs  in  the  main  to  the 
source  JE  ;  the  only  part  of  it,  before  we  arrive  at  the 
genealogical  details  in  46  :  6-27,  which  can  be  attrib- 
uted to  P  being  the  brief  chronological  notices  in  37: 
\,  2a  ;  41,  46.*  How  far,  in  JE,  the  parts  belonging  to 
J  and  E  respectively  can  be  distinctly  recognized,  must 
be  left  doubtful  ;  as  has  been  more  than  once  said,  the 
criteria  distinguishing  these  two  sources  from  one  an- 
other are  not  unfrequently  slight  and  indecisive.  Still 
there  are  indications  which  appear  to  make  it  probable 
that  the  history  of  Joseph  was  told  independently  by 
both  J  and  E.  and  that  the  redactor  followed  some- 
times one  narrative  by  preference,  sometimes  the  other. 
One  such  indication  appears  in  to-day's  lesson,  in  v.  28, 

*  For  convenience  of  reference,  a  synopsis  of  the  parts  of  Genesis,  subse- 
quent to  Abraham's  deatli  and  burial,  assigned  to  P  (see  Lesson  VL  above, 
beginning),  is  here  appended:  Gen.  25  :  12—17  (Ishmael,  and  tribes  de- 
scended from  him),  ig,  20,  26/' ;  26  :  34,  35  ;  27  :  46-28  19;  2g  :  24,  29  ; 
31  :  18//;  33  :  18  (probably),  cli.  34  (in  the  main) ;  35  :  5,  9-15  (history  of 
Isaac  and  of  Jacob  and  Esau  to  the  period  of  Isaac's  death)  ;  ch.  36  (his- 
tory of  Esau,  and  of  his  settlement  in  Edom) ;  37 :  i,  2a  ;  41  :  46  ;  46  : 
6-27  ;  47  :  5/^  ba  (see  Lesson  IV.  helotu),  7-1 1,  27/',  28  ;  49  :  281^-33  ;_  50  : 
12-13  (outline  of  Joseph's  history). 


GEN.   37  :  23-36.  51 

as  compared  with  vs.  25-27.  Not,  indeed — at  least,  re- 
garded in  itself — the  change  from  Is/unaelites  to  Midian- 
ites,  as  the  name  of  the  merchants  into  whose  hands 
Joseph  came;  for  though  the  Midianites  are  not  named 
among  the  tribes  descended  from  Ishmael,  in  Gen.  25  : 
13-15,  and  are,  in  fact,  connected  with  Abraham  not 
through  Hagar,  but  tlirough  Keturah  (v.  2),  the  term 
"  Ishmaehte  "  appears  to  have  been  used  sometimes  in 
a  wider  and  more  general  sense,  so  as  to  be  capable  of 
embracing  other  kindred  tribes.  Thus,  in  Jud.  8  :  24 
(comp.  vs.  I,  3,  22),  it  is  applied  actually  to  Midianites  ; 
and  it  might  be  reasonably  held  that  it  was  applied 
similarly  here.  But  v.  28  does  not  read  as  the  original 
sequel  to  vs.  25-27:  the  sequel  to  vs.  25-27,  in  which 
the  Ishmaelite  traders  have  been  definitely  mentioned, 
would  be  "  and  tJie  Midianite  merchantmen  passed 
by  "  (or  rather,  perhaps,  "  drew  near  ")  :  the  expression 
"  Midianites,  merchantmen  "  (which  is,  if  possible,  more 
indefinite  in  the  Hebrew  than  in  the  English),  seems  to 
show  that  originally  this  must  have  been  \\\q  first  notice 
of  such  traders:  in  other  words,  that  v.  28  is  part  of  a 
narrative  J>ara//c'/  to  that  in  vs.  25-27,  and  not  the  se- 
gue/ o(  it.  If  it  be  true  that  there  is  thus  an  independ- 
ent ground  for  attributing  part  of  v.  28  to  a  different 
source  from  vs.  25-27,  the  variation  above  noticed  ap- 
pears in  a  new  light,  and  will  be  more  naturally  ex- 
plained as  arising  from  the  same  cause.  If  the  context 
be  read  attentively,  it  may  be  observed  further,  (i)  that 
the  words  "  and  sold  Josepl^to  the  Ishmaelitcs,"  in  v.  28, 
follow  more  suitably  as  a  sequel  to  v.  27  than  to  the 
words  immediately  preceding  in  v.  28  ("  and  there  passed 


52  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

by  Midianites,"  etc.);  and  (2)  that  the  same  variation 
recurs  afterwards — comp.  37  :  36  (Midianites)  with  39  :  i 
(Ishmaelites).  We  may  assign,  then,  to  the  source  E, 
vs.  22-24,  28  ("  and  there  passed  by  Midianites,  mer- 
chantmen ;  and  they  "  — /.  e.,  probably,  in  the  original 
context,  the  Midianites:  comp.  40:  15,  where  Joseph 
says  that  he  was  stolen  out  of  the  land  of  the  Hebrews 
— "drew  and  lifted  up  Joseph  out  of  the  pit;  and  they 
brought  Joseph  unto  Egypt ''),  29  :  36  ;  and  to  J,  vs. 
25-27,  28  ("and  sold  Joseph  to  the  Ishmaelites  for 
twenty  pieces  of  silver  " — which  connects  smoothly  with 
the  end  of  v.  27),  31-35  (the  narrative  being  continued 
in  ch.  39  :  i). 

II.  Joseph  Exalted — Gen.  41  :  38-48. 

(April  10.) 

The  narrative  of  Joseph  in  Egypt,  chaps.  40-45,  ap- 
pears to  consist  of  long  passages  derived  alternately  (in 
the  main)  from  the  two  sources  J  and  E.  Thus  the  narra- 
tive from  ch.  40  :  i  to  ch.  42  :  37  (with  the  exception  of 
a  few  phrases  which  may  have  been  incorporated  by  the 
compiler  from  J)  is  assigned  to  E  ;  from  42  :  38  to  the 
end-  of  ch.  44  is  assigned  to  J  (with  similar  slight  excep- 
tions, attributed  of  course  conversely  to  the  use  of  E) ; 
ch.  45  belongs  again  to  E.  The  grounds  for  this  divis- 
ion can  only  be  understood  in  connection  with  parts  of 
the  narrative  lying  outside  the  limits  of  the  selected 
lesson.  They  consist  principally  in  differences  in  the 
representation.  Thus,  in  ch.  42,  Joseph's  brethren  are 
charged  with  being  spies,  and  in  reply  volunteer  the  infor- 
mation respecting  their  younger  brother,  at  home  with 


GEN.  41  :  38-48.  53 

his  father  (vs.  7-13,  30-32) ;  in  the  report  of  what  had  oc- 
curred, contained  in  ch.  43,  there  is  no  allusion  to  such 
a  charge,  and  Joseph  is  expressly  stated  to  have  asked 
them  whether  they  had  a  brother  (vs.  6,  7  ;  so  44  :  19,  in 
Judah's  pleading  before  Pharaoh).  Again,  according 
to  43  :  21,  the  discovery  of  the  returned  money  ("  every 
man's  money  was  in  the  mouth  of  his  sack  ")  is  stated 
to  have  been  made  at  the  "  lodging  place "  on  the 
homeward  journey:  according  to  42  :  35  it  appears  to 
have  taken  place  after  the  brethren's  arrival  home, 
whilst  they  were  emptying  their  sacks.  The  former 
representation,  however,  agrees  with  that  in  the  two 
verses  42  :  27,  28  (which,  where  they  stand,  anticipate,  at 
least  partially,  v.  35);  hence  it  is  supposed  that,  while 
ch.  42  in  the  main  belongs  to  E,  and  ch.  43  to  J,  the 
two  verses  42  :  27,  28  were  incorporated  by  the  compiler 
from  the  parallel  narrative  of  J.  This  inference  derives 
some  support  from  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  word  for 
sack,  in  42  :  2']b  (but  not  2^0),  28  is  a  peculiar  one,  agree- 
ing with  the  one  used  regularly  by  J  in  chaps.  43  and 
44  (not  found  elsewhere  in  the  O.  T.),  while  in  42  :  25,  35 
the  more  ordinary  term  is  employed.  There  are  also 
other  slight  differences  of  phraseology.  Thus,  in  the 
parts  assigned  to  E,  the  use  of  Elolicem  preponderates 
(41  :  51,  52  ;  45  :  5,  7,  8,  9) :  ^=-  in  ch.  39  (J)  we  have  re- 
peatedly Jehovah.  Further  it  may  be  noted  that  in  one 
group  of  passages  (E)  Jacob  is  retained  as  the  name  of 

*  Of  course,  the  use  of  this  term,  in  converse  with  the  Egyptians,  or  be- 
tween Joseph,  whilst  in  disguise,  and  his  brethren,  is  inconclusive,  either 
for  E,  40  :  8,  etc.,  or  against  ],  43  :  g,  etc. ;  for  the  national  name  Jehovah 
would  naturally  not  be  used  in  either  of  these  cases. 


54  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

the  patriarch  (42  :  i,  4,  29,  36;  45  :  25,  27);  in  the 
other  (J)  Israel  is  preferred  (though  not  exclusively), 
43 :  6,  8,  II  (and  similarly  in  chaps.  46  and  48). 

These  and  other  indications  of  the  same  kind,  taken 
collectively,  and  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that  the 
previous  parts  of  what  has  been  termed  JE  in  Genesis 
present  traces  of  composite  origin,  appear  to  the  pres- 
ent writer  to  constitute  a  presumption  that  the  narra- 
tive of  Joseph  is  of  composite  structure  likewise,  and 
that  those  critics  are  right,  at  least  approximately,  who 
apportion  it  in  the  manner  indicated  above. 

In  the  lesson  for  to-day,  then,  while  (as  was  said  in 
the  last  paper)  v.  46  belongs  to  P,  the  rest  of  the  nar- 
rative is  part  of  E.  It  is  true,  the  suggestion  has  been 
made  that  verses  41,  43^^  (from  and  lie  set),  44  (which 
appear  to  repeat  in  different  words  the  substance  of 
verse  40)  may  have  been  borrowed  from  the  parallel 
narrative  of  J  :  but  the  supposition,  even  if  it  be  true, 
does  not  affect  the  integrity  of  the  narrative,  and  the 
grounds  upon  which  it  rests  are  exceedingly  slight. 

III.  Joseph  makes  Himself  Known — Gen.  45 :  1-15. 

(April  17.) 
The  structure  of  the  narrative  relating  to  Joseph 
was  explained  so  fully  in  the  note  upon  the  last  lesson 
that  little  remains  to  be  added.  As  a  whole,  the  lesson 
— and  indeed,  practically,  the  entire  chapter — is  a  piece 
of  continuous  narrative,  excerpted  from  E.  The  only 
exceptions  worth  noticing  are  (according  to  some  crit- 
ics) the  words  in  verse  4,  "  whom  ye  sold  into  Egypt," 
and   in    verse  5,  "  that  ye  sold  me  hither,"  which   are 


GEN.  47  :  I-I2.  55 

thought  to  have  been  introduced  from  the  narrative  of 
J.  This,  however,  is  only  necessary  if  it  be  decided  to 
be  probable  that  in  37  :  28  only  J,  and  not  E,  described 
Joseph  as  "  sold  "  by  his  brethren.  But  in  any  case, 
even  though  the  words  quoted  be  borrowed  from  J, 
words  of  similar  import,  imputing  blame  to  his  breth- 
ren, must  have  stood  in  the  narrative  of  E,  as  a  ground 
for  the  exhortation,  "  be  not  angry  with  yourselves." 

IV.  Joseph  and  his  Father— Gen.  47  :  1-12. 

(April  24.) 

Verses  1-4  are  closely  connected  with  46  :  28-34,  and 
carry  on  J's  account  of  the  introduction  of  Joseph's 
brethren  to  Pharaoh.  The  two  next  verses  are  arranged 
somewhat  differently  in  the  text  of  the  Septuagint  ver- 
sion (made  probably  in  the  third  century  B.  C.) ;  and  this 
arrangement  appears  to  be  preferable  to  that  of  the 
present  Hebrew  text.  The  verses  read  in  the  Septua- 
gint ;  "(5)  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph,  Let  them 
dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen  :  and  if  thou  knowest  any 
able  men  among  them,  make  them  chief  over  my  cattle. 
And  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into  Egypt  unto  Joseph. 
And  Pharaoh  King  of  Egypt  heard  (of  it).  And  Pha- 
raoh spake  unto  Joseph,  saying.  Thy  father  and  thy 
brethren  are  come  unto  thee  :  (6)  Behold,  the  land  of 
Egypt  is  before  thee  ;  in  the  best  of  the  land  make 
thy  father  and  thy  brethren  to  dwell.  (7)  And  Joseph 
brought  in  Jacob  his  father,"  etc.  (as  in  the  English  ver- 
sion). In  this  text,  the  words,  *'  Let  them  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,"  etc.  {6b  in  the  Hebrew),  appear  more 
suitably  as  the  answer  of  Pharaoh  to  Joseph  in  v.  5,  and 


56  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

at  the  same  time  agree  better  with  the  tenor  of  vs.  3,  4 
than  the  words  which  stand  in  the  corresponding  place 
in  the  Hebrew,  "  thy  father  and  thy  brethren  are  come 
unto  thee  :  "  on  the  other  hand,  these  last  words  suit 
well  the  position  in  which  they  appear  in  the  Septua- 
gint,  as  the  beginning  of  tk.  fresJi  speech  of  Pharaoh,  and 
not  as  the  direct  continuation  of  vs.  3,  4.  In  the  text, 
now,  as  thus  restored  (if  it  be  permissible  so  to  speak  of 
it),  V.  5,  as  far  as  my  cattle,  connecting  with  vs.  3,  4,  con- 
cludes J's  narrative  of  the  appointment  of  Goshen  by 
Pharaoh  for  the  residence  of  Joseph's  brethren.  The 
rest  of  verse  5  in  the  same  text  (from  and  Jacob  and  his 
sous  .  .  .),  verse  6,  and  verses  7-1 1  (which  agree  in  both 
the  Septuagint  and  the  Hebrew),  belong  to  the  narrative 
of  P,  forming  the  sequel  to  46  :  6-27,  and  containing  P's 
account  of  the  arrival  of  Jacob  in  Egypt,  of  his  pres- 
entation by  Joseph  before  Pharaoh,  and  of  the  latter's 
appointing  him  a  possession  in  the  "  best  of  the  land." 
The  clause,  "  and  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into  Egypt 
unto  Joseph,"  which  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  text,  and 
which  appears  tautologous  after  46  :  6,  7,  is  in  the  man- 
ner of  the  writer  of  P,  who,  after  an  intervening  para- 
graph (46  :  8-27),  is  apt  to  repeat  the  substance  of  what 
has  been  already  narrated  (^.  ^.,  5  :  i,  2  ;  comp.  i  :  27, 
28).*     Criteria  of  P's  style  are  :  the  word  sojoiirtiings,  v. 

*  Though  the  text  reads  more  clearly  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  pre- 
served in  tlie  Septuagint,  the  critical  analysis  in  no  way  depends  upon  the 
proposed  restoration  being  adopted.  If  the  existing  Hebrew  text  be  held 
to  represent  the  narrative  as  it  left  the  compiler's  hands,  it  will  merely 
follow  that  he  amalgamated  his  sources  more  intimately,  omitting,  for  ex- 
ample, the  introductory  words  in  P.  The  part  assigned  to  P  will  then  be 
V.  5/^  6rt  (from  Jhy  father,  to  thy  brethren  to  divell). 


GEN.  47  :  I-I2.  57 

9  (as  17  :  8  ;  28  :  4  ;  36  :  7 ;  37  :  i  ;  Ex.  6  :  4 — elsewhere 
three  times  only  in  the  Old  Testament,  vis.,  {a)  borrowed 
from  P,  Ez.  20:  38,  and  probably  Ps.  I19  :  54;  (1!^)  used 
independently,  Job,  18  :  19)  ;  and  the  word  {ox  possession 
in  V.  II,  which,  though  found  occasion^illy  besides,  is 
characteristic  of  P  throughout — occurring  in  it  in  pas- 
sages too  numerous  to  quote  {e.  g.,  17  :  8 ;  23  :  4,  9,  20  ; 
48  :  4)  f  the  style  of  vs.  9,  10  ;  also  the  phrase  "  days 
of  the  years  of  the  life  of,"  vs.  8,  9  (25  :  7)  ;  but  the  lat- 
ter occurs  elsewhere  in  a  similar  context  (2  Sam.  19:35); 
so  that  it  can  only  be  regarded  as  having  weight  when 
taken  in  connection  with  other  indications. 

The  source  of  v.  12  is  uncertain.  It  seems  to  form 
a  connecting  link,  introductory  to  the  narrative  in  vs. 
13-26.  As  it  describes  how^  Joseph  fulfilled  the  promise 
given  in  45  :  11  (E),  and  agrees  in  phraseology  both 
with  that  verse  and  with  50:  21,  which  is  also  part  of  a 
passage  (50:  15-26)  attributed  to  E,  it  is  best  to  re- 
gard it  as  belonging  to  this  source. 

Of  the  two  writers  between  whom,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  history  of  Joseph  is  to  be  in  the  main  distributed, 
E  dwells  on  its  didactic  aspect.  The  issue  of  the 
whole  is  given  in  the  words,  50  :  20,  "  and  as  for  you, 
ye  meant  evil  against  me  ;  but  God  meant  it  for  good, 
to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much  people 
alive;"  and  the  preceding  narrative  has  exemplified  in 
detail  how  God's  purpose  is  realized  through  human 
means,  even  though   it   be   against  the   knowledge,  and 

*  In  Deuteronomy  a  different  word  is  used  to  express  the  same  idea,  2  : 
5,  9,  12,  19  ;  3  :  20  (Deut.  32  :  49  occurs  in  a  paragrnpli  whicli,  from 
other  indications  as  well,  must  be  assigned  to  I'). 


58  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

even  against  the  wishes,  of  the  agents  themselves(cf.  also 
45  •  S~^}'  J  niust  have  narrated  substantially  the  same 
events  ;  but  whether  their  significance  in  this  respect 
was  similarly  brought  out  in  the  parts  of  his  narrative 
which  are  now  replaced  by  E,  cannot  of  course  be  said : 
it  is,  at  least,  not  equally  prominent  in  the  parts  which 
remain  (chs.  43,  44).  The  ease  and  beauty  of  J's  style, 
and  especially  the  eloquent  pathos  of  Judah's  interces- 
sion on  behalf  of  Benjamin  (44:  18-34),  will  be  apparent 
to  the  reader  (comp.  ch.  24). 

V.  Israel  in  Egypt— Ex.  i  :  6-14. 

(May  I.) 

In  this  chapter,  verses  1-5,  7,  13,  14,  belong,  unques- 
tionably, to  P  ;  probably,  also,  v.  6  as  well,  though  some 
critics,  regarding  this  verse  as  introductory  to  vs.  8-12, 
prefer  to  assign  it  to  the  same  source.  The  verse  is 
too  short  to  supply  any  decisive  linguistic  criterion  ;  but 
there  appears  no  sufficient  reason  for  separating  it  from 
the  verses  on  each  side  of  it,  and  refusing  to  assign  it 
to  P.  Marks  of  P  :  the  style  of  verses  i  and  5,  and  the 
reference  to  previous  passages,  attributed  upon  inde- 
pendent grounds  to  the  same  source  (see  Gen.  46  :  8  ; 
26  :  2y);  expressions  in  verse  7,  especially  "were  fruit- 
ful and  multiplied  "  (Gen.  i  :  22,  28  ;  8  :  17  ;  9  :  i ,  7  ;  35  : 
11;  47  :  27  ;  also  17  :  20  ;  28  :  3  ;  48  :  4  ;  Lev.  26  :  9  ;  not 
elsewhere  in  the  Pent,,  and  only  three  times  elsewhere 
in  the  O.  T.),  and  "  increased  abundantly,"  ///.  swarmed, 
Gen.  I  :  20,  21,  and  applied  to  human  beings,  8:  17;  9: 
7;  the  peculiar  form  (in  the  Hebrew)  of  the  expres- 
sion rendered  "  exceeding  mighty  "  (only  Gen.  17:  2,  6, 


EX,    2  :  I-IO.  59 

20,  besides,  and  in  Ezek.  9:9;  16:  13,  a  writer  who 
exhibits  other  remarkable  affinities  of  style  with  P)  ; 
and  in  vs.  13,  14,  the  rare  word  rendered  "rigor"  (Lev. 
25  :  43,  46,  53  ;  Ez.  34  :  4  only),  and  "  hard  service  "  (6 : 
9,  in  a  section  marked  by  many  other  characteristics 
of  P).*  The  sequel  in  P  is  2  :  23^  (from  "and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel")-25. 

The  rest  of  ch.  i  belongs  to  JE  ;  and  in  particular,  vs. 
II,  12,  15-21  (if  not  15-22)  to  E,  but  there  is  some  dif- 
ference of  opinion  among  critics  respecting  the  three 
verses  8-10.  It  is  true  these  verses  contain  one  or  two 
expressions  which  slightly  favor  J,  but  they  are  not  dis- 
tinctive  of  J  (as  the  expressions  quoted  above  are  dis- 
tinctive of  P),  nor  are  they  such  as  another  writer,  as  E, 
might  not  naturally  and  reasonably  have  made  use  of. 
As,  then,  there  is  no  break  or  interruption  in  the  narra- 
tive, such  as  to  suggest  that  vs.  ii,  12  are  by  a  different 
hand  from  vs.  8-10,  it  is  best  to  consider  the  whole  five 
verses.  8-12,  as  belonging  to  E.  In  the  lesson,  there- 
fore, vs.  6,  7,  13,  14,  may  be  referred  to  P,  vs.  8-12  to  E, 

VI.  The  Child  Moses— Ex.  2  :  i-io. 

(May  8.) 

The  whole  chapter,  as  far  as  v.  23^:  (to  "  died  "),  con- 
tains none  of  the  marks  of  P's  style,  and  is  hence  to  be 
referred  to  JE.  The  lesson  (and  indeed  the  entire  sec- 
tion) forms  a  continuous  narrative,  without  any  trace  of 
interruption  or  break;  and  there  is  no  ground  for  sup- 

*  It  may  be  observed,  also,  that  vs.  13,  14  repeat  in  substance  the  con- 
tents of  vs.  II,  12. 


6o  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

posing  it  to  be  the  work  of  more  than  a  single  hand. 
Such  criteria  as  there  are  point  to  E  as  the  source,  rather 
than  to  J  ;  for  instance,  the  word  rendered  "  handmaid  " 
{^dindli)  in  v.  5.  This  may  appear  to  be  of  slight  weight, 
but  in  all  the  passages  of  Genesis  in  which  the  word  oc- 
curs, it  is  in  the  context  of  E  (Gen.  21  :  10,  12,  13  ;  20  : 
17  ;  30  •  3  ;  31  •  33)  !  ^""^^  there  is  a  word  which,  in  col- 
loquial "  language  is  practically  a  synonym  {shiphchnh), 
which  has  been  used  regularly  in  Genesis  by  both  J  and 
P  {e.  g-.,  16:  I,  2,  5,  8,  and  frequently).  It  is  true,  the 
case  is  one  of  those  in  which  there  are  no  grounds  which 
speak  strongly  and  decidedly  in  favor  of  E  rather  than 
J  ;  but  there  are  none  whatever  which  here  favor  the 
view  that  the  narrative  is  composite,  or  includes  ele- 
ments from  both  :  hence,  it  is  reasonable  to  be  guided 
by  such  indications  as  there  are  (even  though  they  be 
slight),  and  to  treat  it  as  forming  part  of  the  source 
which  it  generally  resembles,  77^.,  E. 

VII.  The  Call  of  Moses— Ex.  3  :  1-12. 

(May  15.) 

With  ch.  3  begins  a  long  narrative  from  JE,  extend- 
ing as  far  as  6  :  i,  after  which  there  follows  a  passage 
(6:  2-7,  13)  showing  the  characteristic  marks  of  P. 

The  lesson,  Ex.  3  :  1-12,  is  in  all  probability  to  be  as- 
signed to  E,  with  the  exception  of  vs.  7,  8,  which  appear 
to  be  derived  from  J.  As  has  been  said  before,  the  dif- 
ferences between  J  and  E  are  by  no  means  so  strongly 
marked  as  those   which   distinguish  P  from  JE.     The 

*  'Amah  is  a  legal  term,  is  used  accordingly  in  the  laws  [e.g.,  Ex.  2  1 : 
20,  26),  which  is  r.ot  the  case  with  shiphchalt. 


EX.  3  :  I-I2.  6i 

separation  of  P  from  JE  (as  a  rule)  is  a  comparatively 
simple  task  ;  the  characteristic  expressions  of  P  are  so 
definite  and  recur  so  frequently  (and  by  no  means  merely 
in  passages  of  a  technical  nature),  that  the  absence  of 
them,  in  a  section  of  any  length,  forms  a  reasonable  pre- 
sumption that  it  is  the  work  of  a  different  hand.  But  in 
dealing  with  what  remains,  in  the  first  four  books  of  the 
Pentateuch,  after  the  separation  of  P,  the  critic  finds 
himself  confronted  by  a  more  difficult  problem.  It 
seems,  indeed,  undeniable  that  this  remainder  is  com- 
posite ;  and  in  certain  cases  groups  of  passages,  each 
connected  together  by  common  features,  can  be  distin- 
guished with  tolerable  certainty,  which  we  have  desig- 
nated J  and  E'  respectively.  But  in  other  cases  this 
separation  cannot  be  accomplished.  The  criteria  are 
ainbiguous,  or  too  slight  to  authorize  any  conclusion 
being  founded  upon  them.  We  cannot  feel  sure,  for  in- 
stance, whether,  in  a  given  passage,  one  and  the  same 
writer  has  deviated  slightly  from  his  usual  mode  of  ex- 
pression (which  is,  of  course,  perfectly  possible),  or 
whether  the  compiler  who  combined  J  and  E  together 
has  adopted  elements  from,  both,  and  so  imparted  to  the 
narrative  a  double  character  (which  likewise  would  im- 
ply no  impossible  or  improbable  procedure.)  Hence,  in 
the  analysis  of  "  JE,"  there  arc  passages  in  which  critics, 
according  as  one  peculiarity  or  another  impresses  them, 
or  according  as  they  deem  the  first  or  second  of  the  al- 
ternatives referred  to  the  more  probable,  differ  between 
themselves  in  the  parts  which  they  attribute  to  J  and  E 
respectively.  The  existence  of  such  differences  cannot, 
of  course,  bcurged   as  an  argument  against   the  justice 


62  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

of  the  critical  analysis,  in  passages  where  the  criteria 
are  distinctive  and  definite  ;  but  it  must  be  allowed 
that  they  exist  not  unfrequently  in  the  analysis  of  "  JE," 
rarely  in  Genesis,  more  often  in  Exodus  and  Numbers 
Thus,  in  the  present  instance,  Wellhausen  sees  in  vs. 
1-6  traces  of  J,  which  are  not  recognized  by  other  sub- 
sequent critics;  and  in  ch.  5,  if  we  were  dealing  with  it, 
we  should  have  to  notice  similar  disagreements.  Here, 
however,  the  difference  is  of  no  great  moment,  the  only 
question  being  whether  or  not  the  narrative  embodies 
elements  from  two  parallel  accounts  of  the  same  occur- 
rence:  but  it  has  been  mentioned  for  the  sake  of  the 
reader's  information.  The  present  writer  prefers  (pos- 
sibly without  sufficient  reason)  to  consider  a  narrative 
as  single  until  it  has  been  shown  to  contain  clear  marks 
of  being  composite ;  and  he  is,  therefore,  disposed  to 
agree  with  the  analysis  given  above,  which  refers  the 
entire  lesson  to  E,  with  the  (probable)  exception  of  vs. 
7,  8.  The  principal  criterion  of  E  is  the  predominant 
use  of  Elohccin,  vs.  4,  6  cud,  11-15  (contrast  Jehovah, 
4:1,  2,  6,  10,  II,  etc.):  others,  which  have  been  re- 
ferred to  by  critics,  are  of  less  weight.*     The  reasons 

*  The  expressions  in  v.  i,  "  mountain  of  God,"  and  "  Iloieb,"  point  to 
the  same  conclusion,  though  their  significance  must  not  be  overrated. 
The  first  of  these  expressions  occurs  four  times  besides,  twice  in  the  con- 
text of  E  (18  :  5  ;  24  :  13) ;  but  it  appears  to  have  been  an  appellation  in 
general  use,  and  occurs  also  in  4  :  27  (J),  and  i  Kings,  19  :  8.  "  Horeb  " 
occurs  17:6,  in  the  context  of  E  ;  but  33  :  6  is  too  uncertain  to  be  ap- 
pealed to  in  argument  (not  elsewhere  in  the  Pentateuch,  except  in  Deut. 
1-28  (nine  times);  in  P  and  J  the  name  used  is  uniformly  "Sinai"). 
These  facts  point,  at  least,  to  a  slight  preference  on  the  part  of  E  for  the 
terms  in  question  ;  and,  therefore,  so  far  as  they  go,  favor  the  inference 
that  a  narrative  in  which  they  are  used  belongs  to  the  same  source. 


EX.   12  :  I-14;    14  :  19-31.  63 

for  attributing  vs.  7,  8  to  J  are  partly  tliat  v.  7  seems  in 
substance  to  anticipate  v.  9  (and,  therefore,  presumably 
to  be  derived  from  the  parallel  narrative),  partly  that 
the  enumeration  of  nations,  such  as  occurs  in  v.  8,  is 
generally  found  elsewhere  in  the  context  of  J. 

VIII.  The  Passover— Ex.  12  :  1-14. 

(May  22.) 

P's  account  of  the  institution  of  the  Passover  (vs.  1-13), 
and  of  the  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread  (vs.  14-20),  and 
embracing  in  the  sequel  vs.  28,  37^,  40,  41  (narrative*), 
and  vs.  43-51  (supplemental  law,  presenting  the  con- 
ditions to  be  satisfied  by  those  who  eat  the  Passover) ; 
the  rest  of  the  chapter  belonging  to  JE.  The  parts 
assigned  to  P  are  distinguished  by  a  covibinaiioti  of 
criteria  absent  in  the  remainder  of  the  chapter,  but 
agreeing  with  those  which  have  been  determined  else- 
where to  be  those  of  this  source :  conversely,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  chapter  has  links  connecting  it  with 
parts  of  chaps.  10  and  ii,  which  are  referred  inde- 
pendently to  JE  {e.  g.,  vs.  29,  30,  31,  32,  with  ii  :  5,  6; 
10  :  8,  9,  24;  vs.  35,  36,  with  il  :  2,  3;  3  :  21,  22). 

IX.  The  Red  Sea — Ex.  14  :  19-31. 

(May  29.) 

The  analysis  of  this  chapter  is  difficult  and  uncer- 
tain.    It  seems  probable,  however,  that  to  P  should  be 

*  The  parts  in  which  this  is  now  defective  being  superseded  by  passages 
excerpted  from  the  other  sources,  and  preferred  by  the  redactor — perhaps 
oil  the  ground  that  they  gave  prominence  to  different  aspects  of  the  insti- 
tution (vs.  20-27),  or  were  more  circumstantial  (v.  29ff.) 


64  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

assigned  vs.  1-4,  8,  9,  lob  ("and  the  children  of  Israel 
cried  unto   the    Lord"),    15-18,  21    (the  words,  "And 
Mose,5   stretched  out  his  hand   over   the  sea  ;  and    the 
waters  were   divided"),  22,  23,  26,   2ya   (to  "over  the 
sea"),  28,  29;  the  rest  belonging  to  JE  (in  particular, 
probably,  except  v.  19^7,  to  J).     But  it  cannot   be   pre- 
tended   that   this    analysis    has   a  claim   to  more  than 
approximate   probability:  nor  is  it  denied  that  critics 
have  proposed  more  complicated  solutions,  and  have  as- 
signed, for  instance,  parts  of  what  has  here  been  attrib- 
uted to  P,  to  E.   The  differences  arise  from  the  fact  that 
the  phraseology  of  the  chapter  is  less  distinctive  than 
is  generally  the  case  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  hence  allows 
scope  for  divergent  interpretations.    The  parts  assigned 
to  P  are  connected  together  amongst  themselves  (note, 
i\  g.,  "  harden  the  heart,"  vs.  4,  8,  17;  "get  me  honor," 
vs.  4,  17,  18;  "and  the  Egyptians  pursued,"  vs.  9,  23; 
"the   dry  land,"  and  "  the  Avail,"  vs.  22   and    29;  "di- 
vide," vs.  16  and  21),  and  agree  in  phraseology  with  the 
usage    of  P   in    other  places   {e.  g.,  the  style   of  v.  2 : 
"  with  an  high  hand,"  v.  9  ;  Numb.  15  :  30,  and  especially 
33  :   3) ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  other  parts  of  the  chap- 
ter (which  are  likewise  connected  together,  vs.  13,  30; 
19,  20,  24)  sometimes  slightly  interrupt  the  connection, 
and  read  as  if  they  were  derived  from  a  parallel  narra- 
tive  {c.  g.,  vs.  5-7,  preceding  the  statement  that  Pha- 
raoh's   heart  was    hardened,  v.   8),  and  have   points  of 
contact  with  passages  occurring  elsewhere,  and  referred 
to  JE  (comp.  especially  vs.  19,  20,  with  13,  21,  22;  and 
V.  3i(^  with  4  :  i  sq.,  31).    The  two  narratives  which  have 
been  thus  interwoven  dwell,  it  may  be  observed,  upon 


EX.   i6  :  4-12.  65 

different  incidents  or  aspects  of  the  transaction  related. 
P  (as  elsewhere)  specifies  the  locality,  vs.  2,  9;  he  fur- 
ther describes  the  "  hardening"  of  Pharaoh's  heart,  and 
sees  in  his  discomfiture  an  evidential  purpose  (vs.  4,  18), 
the  acquisition  of  "  honor  "  or  "  glory  "  by  God  (comp. 
Lev.  10:3;  Ezek.  28  :  22  ;  39  :  13)  ;  he  alone  mentions 
the  outstretching  of  Moses'  hand,  or  compares  the 
waters  to  a  "  wall  "  on  each  side  of  the  Israelites.  J,  on 
the  other  hand,  speaks  of  the  altered  attitude  of  Pha- 
raoh and  his  servants  toward  the  children  of  Israel  on 
its  human  side,  as  a  change  of  mind  arising  from  the 
recognition  that  an  error  of  judgment  has  been  com- 
mitted (v.  5) ;  he  gives  a  fuller  and  more  graphic  repre- 
sentation of  the  murmurings  of  the  people,  and  of 
Moses'  reply  (vs.  11-14),  which  is  barely  alluded  to  in 
P  (v.  10/^,  15^?);  he  alone  mentions  the  agency  of  the 
wind  (v.  21,  middle  clause,  comp.  15  :  8;  contrast  the 
command  in  v.  16,  where  the  division  of  the  waters  is 
referred  iinuicdiatcly  to  the  outstretching  of  Moses' 
hand),  or  notices  the  changed  position  of  the  pillar  of 
cloud,  vs.  19,  20,  and  the  confusion  in  the  host  of  the 
Egyptians,  vs.  24/;",  25.  It  need  hardly  be  remarked  that 
these  two  narratives  are  in  no  sense  inconsistent ;  they 
are  rather  supplementary  to  each  other;  the  one  dwell- 
ing on  aspects  or  particulars  of  the  occurrence  on  which 
the  other  is  silent,  or  wliich  it  treats  as  subordinate. 

X.  The  Manna — Ex.  16  :  4-12. 

(June  5.) 

The  greater  part  of   this  chapter  belongs  to   P,  the 
only  exceptions  (probably)  being  vs.  4,  5,  27-30.     Marks 


66  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

of  P  are  the  expressions,  "congregation  of  the  children 
of  Israel,"  vs.  i,  2,  9,  10;  "between  the  two  even- 
ings," V.  12  (see  R.  V.  marg. :  a  technical  ritual  term  ; 
comp.  12  :  6  ;  29  :  39,  41,  and  elsewhere) ;  "a  head,"  lit. 
skull,  V.  16  (another  technical  term,  used  in  formal 
enumerations,  38  :  26  ;  Numb.  3  :  47)  ;  "  a  solemn  rest," 
V.  23  (comp.  31  :  15;  35  :  2,  and  elsewhere);  "through- 
out your  generations,"  vs.  32,  33  ;  also  the  general  style, 
in  such  verses  as  I,  9,  16,  34.  In  the  passage  selected 
for  the  lesson  it  is  possible  that  the  text,  by  some  acci- 
dent of  transmission,  has  been  disarranged  ;  for  as  it 
stands,  the  instruction  to  Moses  to  convey  the  promise 
of  food  to  the  people,  vs.  9-12  (esp.  v.  12),  folloivs 
the  account  of  the  actual  delivery  of  the  message  in  vs. 
6--8.  If  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  original  position 
of  vs.  9-12  was  before  vs.  6-8  (so  as  to  produce  for  P 
the  order  vs.  1-3,  9-12,  6-8,  13,  etc.),  it  would  at  least 
seem  as  if  the  consecution  of  the  narrative  would  be  im- 
proved. 

Respecting  the  source  of  the  verses  v/hich  remain, 
after  the  separation  of  P,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
critics  are  not  entirely  agreed.  There  are  some,  for  in- 
stance, who  refuse  to  attribute  them  to  JE,  and  who 
regard  them  as  insertions  introduced  into  the  narrative 
of  P  at  a  comparatively  late  date.  The  grounds  upon 
which  this  supposition  rests  are,  however,  very  ques- 
tionable; and  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  departing 
from  the  opinion  (which  is  also  that  of  Dillmann)  that 
they  belong  to  JE  (in  particular,  apparently,  to  J).  The 
reasons  for  which  vs.  4,  5,  27-30  are  referred  to  a  different 
source  from  the  rest  of  the  chapter  are,  partly,  a  differ- 


EX.   i6  :  4-12.  ^y 

ence  of  style,  and  partly  a  material  difference  apparent  in 
vs.  4,  5  when  they  are  compared  with  the  verses  which 
follow.  In  vs.  4,  5  the  promise  is  given  that  bread  will 
be  rained  from  heaven  for  the  people,  the  allusion  being 
plainly  to  the  manna;  but  in  the  communication  made 
to  the  people  in  vs.  6-8,  the  terms  of  the  promise  differ 
remarkably  :  a  distinction  is  drawn  between  evening  and 
morning  ;  "  flesh,"  /.  ^'.,  the  quails  (v.  13^),  is  promised 
for  the  one,  and  "  bread,"  /.  e.,  the  manna  (v.  i^^b,  14),  for 
the  other.  The  same  distinction  is  found  in  v.  12,  so 
that  even  if  it  be  true  (as  was  suggested  above)  that 
originally  vs.  9-12  preceded  vs.  6-8,  there  remains  the 
same  difference  between  the  promise  in  v.  4  and  in 
V.  12 :  the  one  alludes  to  the  manna  alone,  the  other  to 
the  manna  and  quails.  Hence,  it  seems  that  vs.  4,  5 
must  be  derived  from  an  independent  source.  And  vs. 
27-30  are  connected  with  vs.  4,  5  by  subject-matter  and 
style.  Dillmann,  it  is  fair  to  add,  assigns  vs.  25,  26,  as 
well  as  vs.  27-30,  to  J.  Possibly  this  is  right :  there  is 
little  or  nothing  that  is  distinctive  in  these  two  verses, 
or  that  might  not  have  been  said  by  one  writer  as  well  as 
by  the  other.  As  is  plain,  of  course,  from  vs.  5,  27-30, 
J's  account  included  a  notice  of  the  special  provision  for 
the  Sabbath,  and  the  question  only  concerns  the  exact 
point  at  which  his  narrative  is  attached  to  that  of  P. 

As  in  other  cases,  the  two  narrators  emphasize  dif- 
ferent aspects  of  the  occurrence  related.  In  the  prom- 
ise of  food,  as  contained  in  J,  vs.  4,  5,  only  the  manna 
is  alluded  to ;  the  notice  of  the  quails,  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose,  was  included  in  the  omitted  portion  of  this 
narrative,  which,  in  the  existing  text,  is  replaced  by  the 


68  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

account  of  P,  vs.  6-12.  J,  however,  it  may  be  noticed, 
lays  stress  on  the  didactic  import  of  the  occurrence : 
the  manna  is  to  have  the  effect  of  proving  the  peo- 
ple (v.  4),  "  whether  they  will  walk  in  my  law  or  not,"  or 
of  testing  their  obedience  (comp.  vs.  27,  28  ;  also  Deut. 
8  :2,  3,  16).  P,  as  usual,  is  precise  in  the  statement  of 
particulars  (vs.  16,  17,  18,  21,  22),  and  is  careful  to  ex- 
plain in  what  manner  provision  was  made  for  the  mem- 
ory of  the  miraculous  manna  being  preserved  to  future 
generations  (vs.  32-35  ;  "  for  your  generations,"  cf.  Gen. 
17  :  7,  9,  12;  Ex.  12  :  14,  17;  31  :  13,  and  frequently 
in  the  same  source). 

XL,  XII.  The  Commandments — Ex.  20:  i-ii. 

(June  12  and  ig.) 

The  Decalogue,  like  the  collection  of  laws  following 
(20  :  22-23  •  33)»  hnown  as  the  "  Book  of  the  Covenant  " 
(see  24:  7),  belongs  to  JE,  of  which  there  is  here  a  long 
passage,  extending  from  19  :  3  to  24:  15,  and  in  partic- 
ular, probably  (comp.  FJoIiccm,  20:  i,  19,  20,  21)  to  E. 
Not,  of  course,  that  it  was  composed  by  E,  but  E  incor- 
porated it  in  his  narrative.  The  most  interesting  critical 
questions  connected  with  the  Decalogue  arise  from  a 
comparison  with  the  form  in  which  it  is  repeated  in 
Deuteronomy  (5  :  1-21),  which,  although  it  is  introduced, 
apparently  (vs.  5,  22),  as  a  verbal  quotation,  presents 
several  noticeable  differences  from  the  text  as  given  in 
Exodus.  Neglecting  some  slight  and  insignificant  dif- 
ferences, in  two  or  three  of  the  other  Commandments,  it 
will  be  worth  while  to  exhibit  to  the  reader  the  remark- 
able ones  in  the  Fourth  and  Fifth  Commandments,  by 


EX,    20  :   I-I  I. 


69 


placing  the  two  texts  in  parallel  columns.  The  varia- 
tions (which  are  sometimes  of  the  nature  of  additions) 
are  printed  in  italics: 

Exodus  20.  Deut.  5. 

8.  Remember  the  sab-  i2.  Observe  the  sabbath 
bath  day  to  keep  it  holy.         day  to  keep  it  holy,  as  the 

Lord  thy  God  commanded 

9.  Six  days  shalt  thou  ///r^.  13.  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor,  and  do  all  thy  work  :  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work  ; 
10.  but  the  seventh  day  is  14.  but  the  seventh  day  is 
a  sabbath  unto  the  LORD  a  sabbath  unto  the  LoRD 
thy  God:  in  it  thou  shalt  thy  God:  in  it  thou  shalt 
not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor 
thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter, 
thy^  man-servant,  nor   thy     nor   thy   man-servant,  nor 


maid-servant,  nor 

thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger 
that  is  within  thy  gates  : 


thy  maid-servant,  nor  thine 
ox,  nor  tJiine  ass,  nor  any  of 
thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger 
that   is   within   thy  gates : 
in  order  that  thy  man-ser- 
vant and  thy  maidservant 
may  rest  as  well  as   tJion. 
II.   For  in  six  days  the      15.  And  thou  shalt  remem- 
LORD    made    heaven    and     her  that  thomvast  a  servant 
earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that     in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
in  them  is,  and  rested  the     the  LORD  thy  God  brought 
seventh  day  :  wherefore  the     thee  out  thenec  by  a  mighty 
Lord  blessed  the  sabbath     hand,and  by  a  stretched-out 
day,  and  hallowed  it.  arm  :    therefore  the  Lord 

thy    God    eommanded    thee 
to   keep    the    sabbath    day. 


70 


CRITICAL   NOTES. 


12.  Honor  thy  father  and  i6.  Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother  :  thy  mother,  as  the  LORD 

thy  God  commanded  thee  : 
that  thy  days  may  be  long     that  thy  days  may  be  long: 

and  that  it  may  be  ivcll  zuith 
upon  the  land  which  the  thee,  upon  the  land  which 
Lord  thy  God  is  giving  the  Lord  thy  God  is  giv- 
thee.  ing  thee. 

The  variations  in  the  Tenth  Commandment  may  be 
added : 

ly.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  21.  And  thou   shalt  not 

thy  neighbor's  house,  thou  covet  thy  neighbor's  zvife, 

shalt  not  covet  thy  neigh-  and  thou   shalt  not   desire 

bor's  wife,  thy    neighbor's    house,    his 

field, 

or  his  man-servant,  or  his  or  his  man-servant,  or  his 

maid-servant,  or  his  ox,  or  maid-servant,  his  ox,  or  his 

his  ass,  or  any  thing  that  is  ass,  or  any  thing  that  is  thy 

thy  neighbor's.  neighbor's. 

The  principal  variations  are  in  agreement  with  the 
style  of  Deuteronomy,  and  the  author's  hand  is  recog- 
nizable in  them.  The  word  observe  is  used  by  him  in  a 
similar  connection  in  16  :  i.  The  clause  "  as  the  LORD 
thy  God  commanded  thee  "  (vs.  12  and  16),  is  not  strictly 
appropriate  in  what  purports  to  be  a  report  of  the  words 
spoken  ;  but  the  Decalogue  (or,  to  speak  more  precisely, 
the  First  Commandment)  is  the  text  of  the  discourse, 
occupying  the  whole  of  chs.  5-1 1  ;  and  the  comment 
begins,  speaking  strictly,  before  the  text  is  completed. 
The   reference  to  a  previous  command  is  quite  in   the 


EX.  20  :  i-ir.  71 

manner  of  Deut.  20:  17  (and  similarly,  24:8;  26:  18). 
The  most  important  variation  is  in  the  ground  upon 
which  the  Fourth  Commandment  is  based.  The  funda- 
mental basis  of  the  commandment,  as  stated  in  Exodus, 
"in.-:.,  the  Divine  rest  after  Creation,  is  omitted,  and  there 
is  substituted  for  it  a  definition  (i)  of  the  purpose  or 
object  of  the  observance,  (2)  of  the  motive  which  should 
actuate  the  Israelite  to  observe  it.  The  purpose  is 
based,  doubtless,  upon  the  precept  in  the  "Book  of  the 
Covenant,"  Ex.23:  12:  "in  order  that  thine  ox  and 
thine  ass  may  rest,  and  that  the  son  of  thine  handmaid, 
and  the  stranger,  may  be  refreshed;"  its  introduction 
hisre  is  in  keeping  with  the  practical  aim  of  Deuter- 
onomy, and  the  philanthropic  spirit  which  breathes 
throughout  it;  see,  e.  g:,  14:29;  15:10.  The  motive, 
the  recollection  of  the  Egyptian  experiences  and  of  the 
redemption  from  them,  is  made  elsewhere  in  Deuteron- 
omy the  ground  of  a  grateful  spirit  and  of  liberality  in 
dealing  with  dependents  or  the  poor  (15:  15;  16:  11, 
12  ;  24  :  18,  22) ;  and  it  is  applied  similarly  in  the  pres- 
ent instance  ;  the  Israelite  knows  what  servitude  is,  and 
is  therefore  to  show  regard  toward  those  who  are  in 
servitude  to  him.  In  phraseology,  also,  the  verse  is, 
throughout,  Deuteronomic.  In  verse  16,  the  first  addi- 
tion has  been  referred  to  already  ;  the  second,  "  and  that 
it  may  be  well  with  thee,"  is  a  phrase  recurring  several 
times  in  Deuteronomy  (5  :  29  ;  6  :  18  ;  12  :  25  ;  28  :  22) ; 
also,  in  a  slightly  varied  form  elsewhere."  Thus,  while 
quoting  his  text,  the  speaker  in  Deuteronomy  already 

*  Cli.  4  :  40  ;  6:3;  comp.  also,  5  :  33  ;  19  :  13. 


72  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

begins  to  make  his  comments  upon  it — in  one  case,  the 
comment  involving  the  omission,  at  least,  apparently, 
of  ajjart  of  the  original  text. 

Have  we,  however,  even  in  Exodus,  the  Decalogue  in 
its  primitive  form  ?  It  is  an  old  conjecture,  based  in 
part  upon  the  fact  of  the  evidence  of  a  varying  text, 
and  mentioned  with  approval  in  the  "  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary," that  in  its  original  form  the  Decalogue  con- 
sisted merely  of  the  Commandments  themselves,  and 
that  the  explanatory  comments  appended  in  certain 
cases  were  only  added  subsequently.  Thus,  according 
to  this  view,  the  Second,  Fourth,  and  Fifth  Command- 
ments read  originally  : 

"  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thee  any  graven  images." 
"  Remember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy." 
"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother." 

All  the  Commandments  would  thus  be  molded  in  uni- 
form shape,  and  would  have  the  same  terse  and  simple 
form  of  expression  in  which  the  First  and  the  Sixth  to 
the  Ninth  actually  appear  now.  It  has  further  been 
conjectured  that,  as  the  comments  in  vs.  9,  10,  12  bear 
a  singular  resemblance  to  the  style  of  Deuteronomy, 
they  were  in  the  first  instance  added  in  that  book,  and 
thence  transferred  subsequently  to  Exodus  ;  and  that, 
as  it  is  not  probable  that  the  author  of  Deuteronomy 
would  permit  himself  to  omit  a  part  of  the  Decalogue 
(though  he  might  for  the  simple  purpose  of  explanation 
<7('/(r/ clauses),  v.  1 1  may  have  been  only  introduced  into 
the  text  of  Exodus  after  Deuteronomy  was  written. 

These  are  conjectures,  founded,  indeed,  upon  an  ob- 


EX.  20  :  i-ii.  73 

servation  of  real  facts,  but  not  altogether  borne  out 
upon  closer  examination.  It  is  true  that  the  explana- 
tory comments  in  Exodus  contain  expressions  charac- 
teristically Deuteronomic,  and,  in  some  cases,  occurring 
besides  only  in  Deuteronoiny.  Thus,  in  the  phrase,  v.  6, 
**  them  that  love  inc,''  there  is  embodied  a  thought 
which  in  the  entire  Pentateuch  is  confined  to  Deuter- 
onomy, viz.,  the  love  of  God,  which  in  that  book  (6:5; 
10  :  12  ;  1 1  :  I,  etc.)  is  made  the  foundation  of  all  human 
action  :  the  expression,  "  in  thy  gates,"  v.  10,  is  pecu- 
liar to  Deuteronomy,  occurring  in  it  in  the  same  appli- 
cation not  less  than  twenty-nine  times,  and  rarely,  if 
ever,  besides:*  the  expressions  in  v.  12,  "that  thy  days 
may  be  long,"  and  "the  land  which  the  LORU  thy  God 
is  giving  thee,"  are  also  (especially  the  latter)  of  re- 
peated occurrence  in  the  same  book  (neither  occurring 
elsewhere  in  the  Pentateuch).  These  facts  possess  un- 
doubtedly considerable  weight.  But  it  is  an  objection 
to  the.  view  which  they  appear  to  support,  that  the 
clauses  in  question  are  not  (as  a  glance  at  the  parallel 
table  will  show)  incorporated  entire  in  Exodus.  If  the 
clauses  were  borrowed  in  Exodus  from  Deuteronomy, 
why  were  portions  of  them  omitted  ?  On  the  other 
hand,  the  more  obvious  supposition,  that  the  clauses  in 
Exodus  TkXQ  furtJicr  commented  on  in  Deuteronomy,  is 
in  accordance  both  with  the  general  aim  and  method  of 
Deuteronomy,  and  is  supported,  in  the  present  case,  by 
other  minor  additions  introduced  by  the  author  into 

*  For  Jer.  14  :  2  ;  Ez.  21  :  15  (Heb.  20)  are  not  parallel  ;  and  i   Kings 
8 :  37  (=  2  Chr.  6  :  28),  which  is  parallel,  or  at  least  is  nearly  so,  occurs  in 
a  context  which  is  molded  throughout  upon  the  style  of  Deuteronomy. 
4 


74  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

the  text  of  the  Decalogue,  for  none  of  which  the  claim 
of  superior  originality  can  be  raised. 

Another,  and  on  the  whole  a  preferable  explanation, 
may,  however,  be  adopted  for  the  similarities  of  style 
that  have  been  alluded  to.  It  is  true  that  the  style  of 
Deuteronomy  is  singularly  marked,  and  that  it  exhibits 
no  points  of  contact  with  that  of  P,  and  but  slight 
ones  with  the  general  style  of  either  J  or  E.  But  there 
are  certain  sections  of  J,  those  sections  in  particular  in 
which  his  style  becomes  parenetic  or  hortatory,  which  do 
exhibit  an  approximation  to  the  style  of  Deuteronomy, 
and  which  afford  some  (though  by  no  means  all)  of  the 
expressions  which  in  their  entirety  give  Deuteronomy 
its  peculiar  coloring.  Such  sections  are  Ex.  13  :  3-16  : 
19  :  4-6  ;  23  :  20-33  !  34  •  10-26.  We  have  no  space  to 
cite  illustrations  in  detail ;  two  will  be  sufficient  :  the 
expression,  "  house  of  bondage,"  Ex.  13  :  3,  14  (and  also 
20:2),  becomes  a  standing  phrase  in  Deut.  (6:  12;  7: 
8;  8:14;  13:6,11);  and  the  "  peculiar  people  ".of  Ex. 
19  :  5  is  repeated  similarly  in  Deut.  7:6;  14  :  2 ;  26  :  18. 
It  would  be  in  agreement  with  the  relation  in  which 
Deuteronomy  stands  to  these  sections  of  Exodus  if  the 
phrases  occurring  first  in  the  Exodus  text  of  the  Deca- 
logue were  appropriated  subsequently  as  part  of  the 
standing  phraseology  of  Deuteronomy.  It  must,  in- 
deed, be  admitted  that  the  expression,  "  within  thy 
gates,"  and  the  phrases  in  v.  \2,x&2idLm.oxQ  distinctively 
Deuteronomic  than  those  occurring  in  the  sections 
quoted;  but  (unless  the  text  of  the  Decalogue  has 
passed  through  phases  about  which  we  can  but  specu- 
late) the  explanation'proposed  appears  on   the  whole 


LEV.   lo  :  i-ii  ;  EX.  35  :  20-29.  75 

to  be  the  least  free  from  difficulty.  Verse  11,  however 
(which  forms  no  model  for  Deuteronomy),  stands  upon 
a  different  footing  :  and  at  what  time  this  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Decalogue  must  be  left  undecided.  The 
first  clause  resembles  closely  ch.  31  :  17^,  and  the  second, 
Gen.  2. :  2b  (both  P)  ;  and  those  who  are  of  opinion  that 
the  verse  would  not  have  been  omitted  when  the  Deca- 
logue was  incorporated  in  Deuteronomy,  had  it  already 
formed  part  of  it,  will  be  justified  in  supposing  that  it 
was  inserted  subsequently,  upon  the  basis  of  the  two 
verses  just  referred  to. 

XIII.  The  Tabernacle — Lev.  10  :  i-ii;  Ex.  35: 
20-29. 

(June  26.) 

Both  these  passages  belong  to  the  priestly  narrative 
(P),  forming  part  of  the  long  account  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Tabernacle,  and  the  vessels,  etc.,  belonging 
to  it  (Ex.  25-31,  35-40),  of  the  sacrifices  offered  at  it 
(Lev.  1-7),  of  the  ordination  of  a  priesthood  (Lev. 
8-10),  of  the  law  respecting  the  distinction  between 
clean  and  unclean,  leprosy,  and  certain  cognate  subjects 
(Lev.  11-15),  culminating  in  the  description  of  the 
ritual  observed  at  the  great  annual  Day  of  Atonement 
(Lev.  16).  As  has  been  said  before,  the  Temple  and 
priesthood,  the  ritual  and  ceremonial  observances  of 
the  Levitical  law,  are,  in  this  narrative,  the  center  of 
interest ;  and  hence  the  precision,  and  fullness  of  detail, 
with  which  the  subject  is  treated.  There  are,  indeed, 
some  critics  who  question  whether  the  whole  of  the 
chapters  which  have   been   enumerated   belong  to  the 


^6  .  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

original  draft  of  P,  and  are  of  opinion  that  some  pas- 
sages may  have  been  inserted  subsequently.  In  Lev. 
lO  :  i-io,  for  instance,  some  difficulty  is  caused  by  the 
fact  that  Aaron's  sons,  i.  e.,  the  ordinary  priests,  are 
alluded  to  as  being  anointed,  whereas,  in  the  funda- 
mental passage,  Ex.  29,  which  prescribes  the  ceremony 
of  ordination,  the  rite  of  anointing  is  reserved  appar- 
ently for  the  Higli  Priest  (vs.  7,  8).  But  there  are  other 
passages  in  which  "anointing"  is  extended  to  Aaron's 
sons ;  and  the  question  is,  probably,  one  of  exegesis 
rather  than  of  criticism.  Ex.  35  :  20-29  is  part  of  the 
detailed  account,  occupying  chaps.  35-40,  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  directions  given  in  chaps.  25-31,  for  the 
construction  of  the  Tabernacle  and  its  parts,  were  car- 
ried out:  the  passage  to  which  the  verses  quoted  refer 
being  ch.  25  :  1-8.  A  large  part  of  these  chapters  (35- 
40)  is  narrated  nearly  in  the  same  words  as  are  used  in 
the  injunctions,  chaps.  25-31,  with  merely  a  change  of 
tense  in  the  verbs  (comp.,  for  instance,  25  :  10-20  with 
37  :  1-9) ;  but  when  the  two  are  compared  closely  to- 
gether, certain  differences  of  detail  reveal  themselves, 
which  have  led  some  critics  to  a  similar  conclusion  re- 
specting these  chapters.  A  discussion  of  the  question 
would  occupy  too  much  space;  and  as  the  conclusion 
is  disputed  by  other  critics,  is  not  necessary.  Even 
should  there  be  some  truth  in  it,  the  analysis  of  the 
chapters  would  not  be  affected  :  in  style  and  manner  of 
treatment  they  exhibit  the  type  which  is  uniformly 
recoEfnized  as  that  of  P. 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF  THE   DOCUMENTS.  7/ 


THE   CHARACTERISTICS   OF  THE  DOCU- 
MENTS. 

A  FEW  general  remarks,  relating  to  the  whole  series  of 
papers  now  concluded,  may  be  here  permitted.  It  will, 
of  course,  be  understood  that  no  attempt  has  been  made 
to  demonstrate  the  composite  structure  of  the  Penta- 
teuch :  that  would  have  required  not  merely  the  con- 
tinual quotation  of  Hebrew  words,  but  a  multitude  of 
minute  references  to  every  part  of  the  Pentateuch, 
which  would  have  been  impossible  within  the  limits  at 
the  writer's  disposal.  Moreover,  the  selected  passages 
were  not  always  those  best  adapted  for  this  purpose. 
All  that  the  writer  has  attempted  to  do  has  been  to 
illustrate,  as  each  particular  lesson  afforded  opportu- 
nity, the  kind  of  evidence  upon  which  the  analysis  of 
the  Pentateuch  depended,  and  to  help  the  reader  to 
estimate  its  value  in  different  cases.  The  priestly  narra- 
tive, which  has  been  denoted  by  the  letter  P,  is  marked 
by  such  well-defined  characteristics  that  there  is  seldom 
any  difficulty  in  distinguishing  it.  It  is,  indeed,  some- 
times urged  by  objectors  that  it  is  illegitimate  to  allege 
these  characteristics  in  evidence  of  diversity  of  author- 
ship, that  they  belong  mainly  to  the  ritual  terminology 
of  the  Hebrews,  and  that  consequently  any  author 
making  it  his  aim  to  describe  this  ritual  must  perforce 
use  the  terminology  which  belonged  to  it.  But  this 
objection  overlooks  the  fact  that  a  similar  distinctive 
phraseology,  possessing  many  points  of  contact  with 
the  phraseology  of  the  ritual  sections,  characterizes  ccr- 


78  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

tain  historical  sections  of  Genesis  and  Exodus,  and  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  adjacent  narrative.  There  is 
nothing,  for  instance,  of  a  ceremonial  or  technical 
character  in  Gen.  27  :  46-28  :  8  ;  or  Ex.  6  :  2-7  :  13; 
yet  these  sections  are  connected  with  each  other  and 
with  certain  other  sections  of  these  two  books  by  well- 
defined  marks,  which  are  altogether  absent  from  the 
intermediate  sections — even  from  those  which  (speaking 
generally)  deal  with  the  same  (or  with  a  similar)  subject- 
matter.'"  If  the  peculiarities  belonging  to  these  sec- 
tions corresponded  uniformly  with  a  change  of  subject- 
matter,  there  would  be  plausibility  in  the  contention 
that  the  case  was  merely  that  of  one  and  the  same 
author  adopting  the  phraseology  which  his  new  subject 
required,  and  dropping  it  when  it  was  finished ;  but 
this  correspondence  is  not  what  we  observe :  the  pecu- 
liarities appear  frequently,  irrespectively  of  subject-mat- 
ter: and  the  sections  which  we  have  designated"?" 
differ  from  the  intermediate  ones,  not  in  terminology 
(or  vocabulary)  only,  but  in  style  as  well.  They  differ 
from  them,  in  a  word,  just  in  the  same  manner  as  {e.  g^ 
2  Chr.  20  :  1-30  differs  from  2  Chr.  18,  which  we  knoiv 
to  be  (as  a  whole)  f  the  work  of  a  different  author  (see 

*  Thus,  in  Gen.  28  :  3,  4:  "  El  Shaddai,"  as  17  :  i  ;  35  :  11  ;  48  :  3  ; 
Ex.  6:3;  "make  thee  fruitful,"  and  "multiply  thee,"  as  17  :  6,  20  (cf. 
9:1;  35  :  II ;  48  :  4);  "  assembly  of  peoples,"  as  35  :  11  ;  48  :  4  ;  "land 
of  thy  sojournings,"  as  17  :  8  ;  36  :  7  ;  Ex.  6  :  4.  These  are  examples 
of  phrases  which  appear  in  combination  in  one  series  of  promises, 
whilst  in  another  series  (Gen.  12  :  2,  3  ;  18  :  18 ;  28  :  14  ;  also,  22  :  17, 
18  ;  26  :  3-5)  they  are  absent,  and  a  different  set  of  expressions  appears 
instead. 

•j-  For  the  Chronicler,  in  excerpting  the  narrative  of  Kings,  has  intro- 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   DOCUMENTS.  79 

I  Kings  22  :  1-35).  The  argument  is,  of  course,  greatly 
strengthened  when,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  a  change 
of  iDhraseology  occurs  simultaneously  with  a  variation 
of  stand-point,  or  manner  of  treatment. 

With  respect  to  what  remains,  in  Gen.-Ex.,  after  the 
separation  of  P,  the  case  is  different.  It  is  true  that 
those  who  have  studied  the  question  most  closely  are 
agreed  that  this  also  is  not  homogeneous  ;  and  the  writer 
must  admit  that  it  appears  to  him  to  exhibit  phenom- 
ena which  are  with  difficulty  reconcilable  with  the  be- 
lief in  its  unity.  But  he  does  not  conceal,  either  from 
himself  or  from  others,  that  here  the  means  of  fixing 
definitely  the  points  of  demarkation  frequently  fail  us, 
and  that  the  criteria  wdiich  are  relied  upon  for  the  purpose 
appear  to  him  to  be  sometimes  slight  and  inconclusive. 
There  is  a  presumption  that  what  has  been  termed 
"JE"is  composite;  and  a  long  continuous  passage 
may  present  affinities  entitling  us  to  connect  it  with 
one  or  other  of  these  sources  respectively  ;  but  in  other 
cases  there  is  so  little  to  guide  us  that  we  must  either 
give  up  the  attempt,  or  admit  frankly  that  our  analysis 
is  tentative  and  liable  to  error.  It  need  hardly  be  re- 
duced into  it  one  or  two  little  insertions  or  amplifications  (see  vs.  i,  2, 
31)  whicli  at  the  same  time  betray  his  ozvn  style.  The  best  introduction 
to  tlie  literary  study  of  the  Pentateuch  would  be  a  comparison,  sentence  dv 
sentence,  and  word  by  word,  of  the  Clnonicles  (beginning  with  i  Chr.  10 
=  I  Sam.  31)  with  the  parallel  texts  in  Samuel  and  Kings.  Of  course, 
the  more  delicate  idiomatic  differences  could  only  Ije  perceived  in  the 
Hebrew  text  ;  but  the  Revised  English  Version  would  form  a  sufficient 
basis  for  sucli  a  comparison  ;  and  the  reader  wlio  instituted  it  would  prob- 
ably be  surprised  to  find  how  numerous  wert;  the  insertions,  omissions, 
and  alterations  made  by  the  compiler  of  Chronicles  in  the  texts  incorpo- 
rated by  him  in  his  work. 


80  CRITICAL   NOTES, 

marked  that  an  uncertainty,  where  the  criteria  are  not 
clear,  does  not  constitute  any  cogent  argument  against 
the  validity  of  conclusions  deduced  from  criteria  which 
are  clear.  It  cannot  be  claimed  that  all  writers  should 
exhibit  equally  characteristic  marks  of  difference,  or  even 
that  a  wa'iter  who,  as  a  rule,  displays  a  characteristic 
style,  should  impress  it  with  equal  distinctness  upon 
every  individual  sentence  or  verse  ;  nor,  again,  can  it 
reasonably  be  objected  as  improbable  that  the  compiler 
or  redactor,  in  combining  his  sources  together,  should 
have  made  slight  alterations  at  the  points  of  juncture, 
concealin.g,  or  obscuring,  thereby  the  precise  line  of  de- 
markation.  Owing  to  the  operation  of  causes  such  as 
these,  it  is  but  natural  that  passages  should  present 
themselves  in  which  the  literary  analysis  remains  uncer- 
tain. But  such  uncertainty  cannot  alter  or  affect  our 
judgment  upon  the  many  passages  of  which  the  charac- 
teristics are  unmistakable,  or  prevent  our  recognizing, 
where  they  exist,  the  criteria  which  are  significant  of 
diversity  of  authorship. 

The  determination  of  the  dates  at  which  the  different 
sources  of  the  Pentateuch  were  composed  rests  largely 
upon  considerations  other  than  those  of  criticism 
proper,  and  would  demand  a  long  and  difficult  investi- 
gation. Undoubtedly,  the  different  codes  of  law  em- 
bodied in  the  Pentateuch  (Ex.  21-23  ;  the  "  priest's 
code,"  Lev.  1-16,  etc. ;  the  code  underlying  the  legislat- 
ive part  of  Deuteronomy,  viz.,  chaps.  12-26)  had  their 
source  in  the  Mosaic  age  ;  but  ^vhether  they  all  assumed 
at  once  their  present  shape  is  open  to  question.  It  is 
possible  that,  in  some  z2js,q%,  pi'inciplcs  were  laid  down 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE    DOCUMENTS.  8 1 

by  Moses,  which  it  was  left  to  a   later  age,  under  the 
continued  aid  of  inspiration,  to  develop  and  apply. 

It  remains,  in  conclusion,  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
general  scope  and  character  of  the  several  Pentateuchal 
sources,  for  which  no  suitable  opportunity  occurred  be- 
fore, and  in  which  it  may  be  permitted  to  refer  to  other 
passages   as  well   as  to  those  actually  selected   for  the 
lessons.     It  has  been  more  than  once  observed  that  the 
different  narratives  of  the  Pentateuch  (like  the  different 
gospel  narratives)    dwell    upon  particular  incidents    of 
the  history,  or  emphasize  its  different  aspects  or  teach- 
ing.    The  observation  is  true  generally.     Each  narra- 
tive has  throughout  a  consistent  character,  and   is  con- 
structed with  a  definite  aim.     The  main  object  of  the 
priestly  narrator  (P)  is  to  present   a   systematic  view  of 
the  theocratic  institutions    of   Israel:  and  to  this  aim 
everything  in  his  work   is  more  or  less   subordinated. 
His  narrative  in  Genesis,  for  instance  (which  has  appar- 
ently been    preserved  with   approximate  completeness), 
leads  up  to  this  :  it   is  mostly  of  a  summary  character, 
suited  to  form  an  introduction  :   it  becomes  more  de- 
tailed on  occasions  of  importance  in  the  development  of 
the  theocracy,  as  at   the  covenants  with  Noah  or  Abra- 
ham (9:1-17;  ch.   17).     But  it  is  throughout  arranged 
systematically  :  the  stages  of   the  history  are   marked 
by  the  recurring  phrase,  tliese  arc   the  generations   of 
.      .      .     (comp.    5:1;  6:9;   10:1:    11:10,  etc.) :  great 
attention   is  devoted  to  the  chronology,  and  to  other 
statistical   data  which  help  to   give  a  clearer  picture  of 
the  growth  of  the  clan,  founded  by  Abraham,   into  a 
nation.     The  love  of  method  and  system  is  visible  even 


82  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

in  the  style  of  P  ;  he  writes  as  a  jurist  rather  than  as  an 
historian  :  his  language  is  circumstantial,  formal,  precise  : 
a  subject  is  developed  systematically,  and  the  effort  is 
always  made,  even  at  the  cost  of  some  repetition,  to 
insure  particularity  and  precision  of  detail  (comp.,  e.g., 
Gen.  II,  13-16  ;  8  :  15-19  ;  23  :  17,  18,  20;  49  :  29-32). 
In  accordance  with  the  statement  in  Ex.  6:  3,  the  name 
used  by  him  in  Genesis  is  regularly  God  {Elohccni)*  or 
God  Almighty  {El  Shaddai :  see  Gen.  17:1;  28  :  3  ; 
35  :  II  ;  48  :  3) :  but  after  this  point  in  Exodus  he 
adopts  consistently  the  name  JehOVAH.  In  the  prom- 
ises embodied  in  the  patriarchal  narrative  of  P,  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  the  outlook  is  limited  io  Israel  {ly  : 
6-8  ;  28  :  3,  4  ;  35  :  1 1-12,  quoted  48  :  3  ;  Ex,  6  :  4,  6,  7). 
The  substance  of  these  promises  is  the  future  growth 
and  glory  {''kings  shall  come  out  of  thee")  of  the 
Abraham ic  clan  :  the  establishment  of  a  covenant  with 
them,  implying  a  special  relation  between  them  and 
God  ("  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee  ;"  "  and  I  will  take  you  to  me  for  a  people,  and  I 
will  be  to  you  a  God  ") :  the  confirmation  of  the  land 
of  Canaan  as  an  inheritance.  There  is  no  reference  in 
P  to  Israel's  being  made  the  medium   of  salvation  to 


*  There  are  only  two  exceptions,  Gen.  17  :  i  ;  21  :  il>,  due,  probably, 
to  the  hand  of  a  redactor  or  of  a  copyist.  The  compiler  of  Chronicles 
many  times  changes  "  Jehovah  "  of  his  original  source  into  "  Eloheem," 
neither  consistently  nor  with  apparent  reason,  except  that  the  latter  term 
was  the  one  which,  when  writing  independently,  he  was  disposed  to  pre- 
fer. Comp.,  c.  g.,  2  Chr.  10  :  15  ;  iS  :  5  ;  22  :  12  ;  23  :  g ;  34 :  9.  27,  with  i 
Kings  12  :  15  ;  22  :  6  ;  2  Kings  11  :  3,  10  ;  22  :  4, 19.  But  even  should 
this  not  be  the  case  in  Genesis,  the  use  of  Eloheem  in  this  source  is  still 
so  predominant  as  fairly  to  be  described  as  "  regular-." 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   DOCUMENTS.  83 

the  Gentiles.  The  Israelitish  theocracy  is  the  writer's 
ideal:  and  the  cuhninating  promise  is  that  in  Ex.  29: 
43-46,  declaring  the  continual  gracious  presence  of  God 
in  the  midst  of  his  people.  The  aspect  of  truth  which 
P  thus  emphasizes  and  illustrates  is  the  abiding prcsoice 
of  God  with  ] lis  people  Israel. 

On  the  general  style  of  \\\q.  prophetical  narrative  (JE) 
some  remarks  have  been  already  made  (in  the  notes  on 
Gen.  18),  and  need  not  be  repeated.  In  this  narrative 
there  is  both  greater  freedom  of  treatment  and  greater 
breath  of  view  than  in  P.  The  history  of  the  patri- 
archal times  is  told  throughout  with  greater  fullness  : 
the  incident  is  more  varied  :  in  dialogue  and  action 
character  displays  itself  without  reserve  :  a  vivid  and 
life-like  drama  is  enacted  before  our  eyes.  The  same 
characteristics  may  be  observed  in  the  narratives  of  the 
Mosaic  age  which  belong  to  the  same  source,  e.  g.,  Ex. 
3:  1-6:  i;  ch.  18  (E) ;  ch.  32-34;  Numb,  ii,  12, 
22-24.  I^  J  be  rightly  distinguished  from  E,  it  may  be 
said  that  while,  in  general,  the  characteristics  just 
noted  are  common  to  both  these  sources,  they  are  viore 
conspicuous  in  J  than  in  E  :  J's  narrative  is  viore  dra- 
matic and  bright  than  that  of  E,  as  it  is  also  richer  in 
theological  ideas.  It  is  J,  for  instance,  who  deals  with 
the  deep  problem  of  the  origin  of  sin  in  the  world, 
and  shows,  at  the  same  time,  how  from  the  first  it 
lay  in  the  Divine  plan  to  provide  a  remedy  against  it 
(Gen.  2  :  4-3  :  24;  esp.  3  :  15).  J  further  emphasizes 
and  gives  instances  of  the  Divine  mercy,  long-suffering, 
and  forbearance  (r.^.,  8  :  21,  22  ;  18  :  23  {{.-^  Ex.32  ;  33: 
12-34:9);  and  anticipates  a  blessed  relation  to  be  es- 


84  CRITICAL   NOTES. 

tablished  between  the  descendants  of  the  patriarch  and 
other  nations  (Gen.  12:3;  18  :  18;  28  :  14  :  comp.  22  :  18  ; 
26  :  14).  Like  P,  he  states  the  design  with  which  the  na- 
tion was  founded  in  its  ancestor  Abraham,  and  delivered 
subsequently  from  its  bondage  in  Egypt  (Gen.  18:  19 
R.  V.  [A.  V.  is  here  incorrect  and  misleading]  ;  Ex. 
19  : 4-6)  to  establishing  a  people  enjoying  a  special  re- 
lation of  nearness  to  God,  and  maintaining  observances, 
righteous  and  well-pleasing  to  him  :  but  he  states  it  in 
less  formal  and  circumstantial  terms. "''^  Passages  such  as 
Gen.  9  :  25-27  ;  16:12  ;  25  :  23,  illustrate  his  broader  view 
of  history,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  interpreted  its 
various  aspects  and  phases  prophetically.  E,  as  has  been 
said,  is,  as  a  rule,  less  rich  than  J  in  ideas  of  special  theo- 
logical significance :  on  the  other  hand,  he  has  interwoven 
into  his  narrative  many  interesting  antiquarian  notices, 
especially  (as  Dillmann  has  observed)  in  matters  relating 
to  Egypt.  For  instance,  the  names,  Eliezer,  Gen.  15:2; 
Phichol,  26  :  22  ;  Deborah,  35  :  8  ;  Potiphar,  37  :  36 
(also  39  :  i)  ;  the  Egyptian  word  dklul,  rendered  "  reed- 
grass,"  41  :  2-18  [also  Job  8:  il]  ;  the  (probably) 
Egyptian  term,  "Abrech,"4i  143;  Zaphnath-paaneah, 
Asenath,  and  Poti-pherah,  41  :  45  ;  the  names  of  the 
store-cities,  built  in  Egypt  by  the  Israelites,  Pithom 
and  Raamses,  Ex.  i  :  11  ;  Shiphrah  and  Puah,  1:15; 
the  notices    of  the  teraphim-worship  (Gen.  31  :  19,  30), 

■"  The  scope  of  the  different  promises  in  Genesis,  and  their  relation  to 
one  another,  may  be  studied  in  greater  detail  in  Professor  C.  A.  Briggs' 
suggestive  volume  entitled  Messianic  Prophecy  (New  York,  iSS6),  chap, 
iii.  (where  the  writer  E,  in  contradistinction  to  J,  is  termed  the  "  theocra- 
tic narrator"). 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   THE   DOCUMENTS.  85 

and  polytheism  (35:4;  Josh.  24  :  2)  of  the  Aramaean 
connections  of  the  patriarchs.  A  closer  examination 
would  bring  to  light  other  characteristic  features  of  the 
same  narrative  :  but  a  systematic  enumeration  is  not 
liere  attempted. 


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2  vols.,  Svo.     $7.00. 

"IVe  doubt  whether  during  the  age  there  has  been  a  more  scholarly  and 
masterly    argument   added  to    the  literature    0/  Christianity  than    this 
critical  re7<icw  of  the  doctrine  of  Sacred  Scripture  by  Professor  Ladd." — 
Chicago  Intek-Ocean. 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  CHURCH  POLITY.     Crown  Svo.     $2.50. 

]ames  Legge. 

THE  RELIGIONS  OF  CHINA.  Confucianism  and  Taoism  described  and  com- 
pared wilh  Cliristianity.      lamo.     $1.50. 


THEOLOGY,  BIBLICAL   LITERATURE,  ETC.  5 

Francois  Lenonimiit. 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HISTORY,  According  to '.he  Bible  and  the  Traditions  of 
Orienlal  I'Loplcs.     From  the  Creation  of  Man  to  the  Deluge.    i2nio.     $2.50. 

fames  M.  Mac  don  aid,  D.D. 

THE  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  JOHN,  Edited  with  an  Introduction,  liy 
the  Very  Rev.  J.  .S.  HowsoN,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Chester.  With  33  illustrations 
and  2  maps.     Svo.     $3.00. 

Selah  Merrill. 

EAST  OF  THE  JORDAN  :  A  Record  of  Travel  and  Observation  in  the  Countries 
of  Moab,  Gilead,  and  Bashan,  during  the  years  1S75-1S77.  With  illustrations 
and  Maps.     Svo.     $2.50. 

Dr.  McrrilPs  cotitribution  to  our  kiio-:c/idi^f  of  ike  Holy  Land  will 
take  its  place  alon^sitlc  o_/RoiiiKsos'ii  Kkseakciies. 

Ed-ward  D.  Morris,  D.D. 

ECCLESIOLOGY  :  A  Treatise  on  the  Church  and  Kingdom  of  God  on  Earth. 
Svo.      $1.75. 

T/ie  plati  is  a  cotnfirehensive  onr,  and  the  discussion  is  marked  by 
candor,  fairness,  thoroiig^kness  and  literary  ability  of  the  highest  tyj>e. 

F.  Max  Miiller. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  SCIENCE  OF  RELICTION;  With  Paperson  Buddhism,  and 
a  Translation  of  the  Dhammapada,  or  Path  of  Virtue.     Crown  Svo.     $2.00. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  OF  RELIGION,  As  illustrated  by 
the  Religions  of  India.     Hibbert  Lectures  for  1S78.     Crown  Svo.     $^-50. 

T.  C.  Murray. 

THE  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  OF  THE  PSALMS,     i^nin.     .$1.50. 

"  One  of  the  tnost  important  works  in  the  def'artment  of  biblical  intro- 
duction and  criticism  tliat  ha-je  been  produced  in  t/iis  country." — The  In- 
dependent. 

O.  Pfleiderer, 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  APOSTLE  PAUL  ON  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
CHRISTIANITY.     The  Hibbert  Lectures  for  18S5.     Crown  Svo.     §2.00. 

Austin  Phelps,  D.D. 

THE  THEORY  OF  PREACHING  ;  Or,  Lectures  on  Homilctics.     Svo.     5:2.50. 

MEN  AND  BOOKS;  Or,  Studies  in  Homiletics.  Lectures  introductory  to 
"  Theory  of  Preaching."     Svo.     .'S2.00. 

ENGLISH     STYLE    IN    PUBLIC    DISCOURSE.      With  special   reference    to   the 

usages  of  tile  Pulpit.     Svo.     .•i.2.00. 

MY  PORTFOLIO.     Collection  of  Essays.     i2mo.     .$1.50. 

MY  STUDY  AND  OTHER  ESSAYS.     i2mo.     $1.50. 

^' To  the  treatment  of  his  subject  Dr.  Phelps  brings  such  qualifications 
as  very  f cm  men  now  living  possess.  He  is  one  of  those  natures  which  are 
instinctively  critical,  and  yet  full  of  what  Matthew  Arnold  happily  calls 
'  sweet  reasonableness.^ " 


THEOLOGY,  BIBLICAL   LITERATURE,  ETC.. 


P.  Le  Page  Renoiif. 

THE  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  OF  RELIGION,  As  illustrated  by  the  Religion  oi 
Ancient  Egypt.     Tlie  Hibbert  Lectures  for  1879.     i2nio.     f  1.50. 

Albert  Reville. 

THE  ANCIENT  RELIGIONS  OF  MEXICO  AND  PERU.  Tlie  Hibbert  Lectures 
for  1884.     i2mo.      $1.50. 

Philip  Schajf,  D.D. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  New  edition,  rewritten  and  en- 
larged. 

APOSTOLIC  CHRISTIANITY,    A.  D.  i— 100.     8v-o.     $4.00. 

ANTE-NICENE  CHRISTIANITY,  A.  D.  100—325.     Svo.     §4.00. 

NICENE  AND  POST-NICE  CHRISTIANITY,  A.  D.  311—600.     $4.00. 

MEDI/EVAL  CHRISTIANITY,  A.  D.  590—1073.     ^4  00. 

"/«  HO  other  single  'Lvork  of  its  kind  with  which  I  am  acguainted  will 
students  and  general  readers  find  so  much  to  instruct  and  interest  them." 
— Pkofessou  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D. 

THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST.  The  Miracle  of  History.  With  a  Reply  to  Strauss 
and  Renan,  anil  a  Collection  of  Testimonies  of  Unbelievers.     lamo.     $t.oo. 

CHRIST  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  Studies  in  Christology,  Creeds  and  Confes- 
sions, Protestantism  and  Romanism,  Reformation  Principles,  Sunday  Obser 
vance,  Religious  Freedom,  and  Christian  Union,     i  vol.,  Svo.     $2.50. 

A  discussion  0/ many  of  those  z'ital  ijucstions  ivhich  are  forced  icpon 
the  minds  of  thinking  Christians  of  to-day,  by  a  writer  whose  profound 
knowledge  of  all  phases  of  principles  and  dogmas,  and  of  the  records  oj 
the  Christian  church,  will  secure  at  once  the  attention  of  all  students  to 
his  work. 

William  G.  T.  Shedd,  D.D. 

A   HISTORY   OF  CHRISTIAN   DOCTRINE.     Two  vols.,  Svo.     S5.00. 

A  TREATISE  ON   HOMILETICS  AND    PASTORAL  THEOLOGY.     Svo.     $2.50, 

THEOLOGICAL  ESSAYS.     Crown  Svo.     $2.50. 

LITERARY   ESSAYS.     Svo.     $2.50. 

A    CONCISE    ANALYTICAL     COMMENTARY    ON   ST.  PAUL'S   EPISTLE  TO 

THE   ROMANS.     Svo.      §j.oo. 
SERMONS  TO  THE  NATURAL  MAN.     Crown  Svo.     $2.50. 

SERMONS  TO  THE  SPIRITUAL  MAN.     Crown  Svo.     $2.50. 
Complete  sets,  eight  vols,  in  a  bo.\,  $18.00. 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ENDLESS  PUNISHMENT. 

Charles  IV.  Shields,  D.D. 

THE  FINAL  PHILOSOPHY,  As  Issuing  from  the  Harmony  of  Science  and  Relig- 
ion. An  Historical  and  Critical  Introduction.  Second  edition  revised. 
Svo.     §  J. 00. 

This  is  perhaps  as  comprehensive,  and  in  the  good  sense  as  ambitious  a 
treatise  as  has  been,  written  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


THEOLOGY,  BIBLICAL  LLrERATURE,  ETC. 


George  Smith. 

THE  CHALDEAN  ACCOUNT  OF  GENESIS.     A  new  edition,  ihon.uglily  revised 
and  coireeted,  with  additions  liy  A.  W.  Savce.     8vo.     §3.00. 

Henry  B.  Smith,  D.D. 

HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH     OF    CHRIST,     in   Clironological    Tables.     Re- 
vised edition.      Folio.     I5.00. 
FAITH  AND  PHILOSOPHY;  Or,  Piscnurses  and  Essays.     With  an  Introduction 
by  Rev.  Dr.  G.  L.  Puen  riss.     8vo.     $3.50. 

Rev.  Newman  Smyth. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  FEELING.     i2mo.     $i.-25. 

OLD  FAITHS  IN   NEW   LIGHT.     i2mo.     $1.50. 

THE    ORTHODOX   THEOLOGY   OF  TODAY.      i2mo.     Kfviscd  cdiiion,    with 

ppecial  preface.     §11.25. 
DORNER    ON    THE    FUTURE    STATE.      With  an  introduction  and    notes    by 

Rev.  Newman  Smvth.     i2mo.     $i.oo. 
THE  REALITY  CF  FAITH.     i2mo.     $1.5,0. 

"The  author  is  log:tcal  and  therefore  dear.  He  is  nlsfl  master  of  a 
^iii'^ularly  attractive  style.  Few  writers  zukose  /nwks  come  inider  our  eye 
succeed  in  treating  metaphysical  and  philosophical  themes  in  a  manner  at 
once  so  forcible  and  so  interesting.'"— Thk  Congregationalist. 

Arthur  Penrhyn  Stantey,  D.D. 

LECTURES  ON  THE  H  STORY   OF  THE  JEWISH  CHURCH.     With  m.'>ps  and 
plans,  and  a  portrait  of  Dean  Stanlev.     New  edition  from  new  plates,  with 
the  author^s  latest  revision.     (Sold  separately.) 
PART     I.     FROM    ABRAHAM  TO  SAMUEL.     i2mo.     gi2.oo. 
PART    II.     FROM  SAMUEL  TO  THE  CAPTIVITY.     i2mo.     $2.00. 
PART  I'l.     FROM  THE  CAPTIVITY  TO  THE   CHRISTIAN   ERA.     With  maps. 
i2nio.     §2.00. 

"  The  Old  Testament  History  is  here  presented  as  it  never  wcis  presented 
before  :  with  so  much  clearness,  eloquence  of  style  and  historic  and  liter- 
ary illustration,  not  to  speak  of  learning  and  calmness  of  Judgment,  that 
not  theologians  alone,  but  also  cultivated  readers  generally,  are  drawn   to 
its  pages.     In  point  of  style  it  takes  rank  with  Macaulay's  History  and 
the  best  chapters  of  Fraud e."—THK  N.  Y.  Times. 
LECTURES  ON  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  EASTERN  CHURCH.      With  an  In- 
troduction  on   the  study  of  Ecclesiastical  History.       New  edition  from  new 
plates.      I2UU).     ^2.00. 
LECTURES    ON    THE    HISTORY    OF  THE   CHURCH   OF    SCOTLAND.     De- 
livered in  K(linbur),'h,  1872.     Svo.      5''-5"- 
CHRISTIAN  INSTITUTIONS.     Crown  Svo.     §2.50.     Also  in  i2mo,  75  cents. 
WESTMINSTER   SERMONS.     Sermons  on  special  occasions  preached  in  West- 
minster Abbey.     8vo.     $2.50. 

William  M.  Taylor,  D.D. 

THE   LOST    FOUND  AND    THE  WANDERER   WELCOMED.      1  ■uio.       New  ed; 
lion.     75  cents. 


8  THEOLOGY,  BIBLICAL    LITERATURE,  ETC. 

Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 

From  the  Manuscript  recently  discovered  by  Philotheos  Bkvennios,  Metro- 
politan of  Nicomedia,  in  the  Library  of  the  Most  Holy  Sepulchre  in  Con- 
stantinople. The  original  Greek  text  and  the  English  translation  printed  on 
opposite  pages.  Edited  with  a  translation,  introduction  and  notes,  by 
KoswELL  D.  Hitchcock  and  Francis  Brown,  Professors  in  Union  Theological 
Seminary.     A  new  edition,  revised  and  greatly  enlarged.     8vo.     Cloth,  $2.00. 

C.  H.  Toy.  D.D. 

QUOTATIONS  IN  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT.     8vo.     $3.50. 

/«  a  deeply  rczierenticil  tone  and  with  (>erfect  critical  indcpetidetice 
Professor  Toy  has  done  his  ivork.  He  has  followed  good  guides  closely, 
and  has  executed  his  task  zvith  equal  diligence,  erudition  and  good  sense. 

H.  Clay  Tnimhitll,  D.D. 

KADESH  BARNEA.  Its  Importance  and  Probable  Site,  with  a  Story  of  a  Hunt 
for  it,  includintr  Studies  of  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  and  the  Southern  Bound- 
ary of  the  Holy  Land,  with  maps  and  illustrations.     8vo.     $5.00. 

THE  BLOOD  COVENANT:  A  Primitive  Rite  and  its  Bearings  on  Scripture. 
I  vol.,  i2mo.     Net,  $2.00. 

The  author  proves  by  overivhelining  evidence  in  this  volume  that  there 
have  always  been  certain  primitive,  ineradicable  convictions  founded  in 
the  very  nature  of  man,  which  directly  point  to  and  confrm  the  Blood 
Co-'enant  of  the  New  Testament. 

John  Till  loch,  D.D. 

MOVEMENTS  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT  IN  BRITAIN  DURING  THE  NINE- 
TEENTH CENTURY.      I  vol.,  i2mo.     $i.o€>. 

"//  is  difficult  to  co)icei7>e  how  the  subject  could  have  been  more  intelli- 
gently, broadly,  judiciously  and  coinprehensi7<ely  covered,  than  it  has  been 
by  Dr.  Tulloch.  The  student  of  religious  thought  in  this  century  cannot 
afford  tc  be  without  this  book." 

Dr.  Gerhard  Uhlhorn. 

THE  CONFLICT  OF  CHRISTIANITY  WITH  HEATHENISM.    Crown  8vo.    $2.50. 
CHRISTIAN  CHARITY  IN  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.     Crown  Svo.     ^2.50. 

'^Dr.  Uhlhorn  possesses  three  necessary  qualifications  for  the  work  he 

has  undertaken,  viz.:  great  learning,  philosophical  grasp  of  the  principles  . 

which  underlie  the  early  history  of  Christianity,   and  great  beauty  and 

strength  of  style.'''' 

Henry  J.  Van  Dyke,  Jr.,  D.D. 

THE  REALITY  OF  RELIGION.     i2mo.     $1.00. 

"  The  style  is  so  graceful  and  the  thought  so  clearly  put,  that  the  volume 
is  admirably  adapted  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  any  educated  person  who 
has  become  confused  or  troubled  by  the  wild  speculations  that  are  current.''^ 
—  Pkesbvtekian   Review. 

Marvin  R.  Vincent,  D.D. 

GATES  INTO   THE  PSALM  COUNTRY.     i2mo.     $1.00. 
FAITH   AND  CHARACTER.      i2mo.     fi.50. 

"  It  is  a  book  written  from  the  heart,  and  there  are  few  who  can  care' 
fully  read  if  without  fe/ing  their  fiitli  strenghtened  and  their  hopes 
wade  surer. ^' 


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